Latest news with #DavidCampbell
News.com.au
2 days ago
- Politics
- News.com.au
Jury to deliberate after Kiama MP's eight-week trial
A jury deciding the fate of a former NSW minister accused of assault are expected to begin deliberations on Wednesday morning. Gareth Ward, the NSW independent MP for Kiama, was charged in March 2022 with three counts of assault with act of indecency, an alternative charge of common assault against an 18-year-old man at Meroo Meadow in 2013, and intercourse without consent against a 24-year-old man in Potts Point in 2015. Since his arrest three years ago, the 43-year-old has denied the allegations and pleaded not guilty to all counts. In the Darlinghurst District Court on Tuesday, Judge Kara Shead SC finished her summing up of the case, and reminded the jury the onus of burden to prove each of the counts remains on the prosecution. After eight weeks of evidence, the jury are expected to begin their deliberations on Wednesday morning. In her closing address, Crown prosecutor Monika Knowles told the jury it is 'not a coincidence' that two men came forward with similar allegations. However, defence barrister David Campbell SC told the jury the crown had not discharged the burden it has in either of the two complainant's cases. The barrister urged the jury to find the MP not guilty on all counts. Mr Ward is alleged of assaulting a man, who had just turned 18 at the time of the alleged assault at Mr Ward's South Coast home in February 2013. It is also alleged the MP sexually assaulted another man – who was 24 at the time – at his Potts Point apartment in September 2015. The 43-year-old was charged by police in March 2022. Beginning his political career in 2011, Mr Ward was a councillor on the Shoalhaven Council before becoming the Liberal member for Kiama in 2011, a seat he has held since. He also held the role of NSW Minister for Families, Communities and Disability Services for just over two years.
ABC News
3 days ago
- Politics
- ABC News
Gareth Ward's defence says police probe flawed, 'potentially dishonest'
Gareth Ward's defence has accused police of a flawed and biased investigation, telling the jury the sexual assault allegations against the MP are inconsistent, unreliable and never happened. The independent Kiama MP and former Liberal minister is facing five criminal charges, including sexual intercourse without consent and indecent assault, over allegations made by two men involving separate incidents in 2013 and 2015. Mr Ward strenuously denies the claims. The younger complainant alleges two incidents, including an unwanted back massage, occurred at Gareth Ward's Meroo Meadow home in 2013, when he was 18 years old. The second complainant, a former political staffer who was 24 at the time, alleges Mr Ward sexually assaulted him at the MP's Potts Point apartment after an event at NSW Parliament House. Following nine weeks of evidence led by the Crown, the defence today finalised its closing address. Mr Ward's barrister, David Campbell, told the jury the police investigation led by former Detective Senior Constable Cameron Bignell had "selectively and potentially dishonestly cherry-picked what he wished to investigate". He described Mr Bignell as a "miscreant" for ignoring directions from a colleague to seek parliamentary access and phone records. The defence urged the jury to view with scepticism a 2021 police walk-through — filmed on a body-worn camera, showing the older complainant's walk from outside NSW Parliament House to Mr Ward's Potts Point apartment. Mr Campbell questioned why it was recorded years after the alleged assault in 2015. He also highlighted the older complainant's shifting account, including uncertainty around dates and the route into the apartment, and said misdescribed details of the bedroom's interior undermined his reliability. Mr Campbell told the jury the older complainant's conduct after the alleged incident was inconsistent with his claim of trauma. He said that behaviour included maintaining friendly contact with Mr Ward and, later, sending the MP a job application, in which he wrote: "Your friendship means the world to me and my respect for you is already as high as it can be." Mr Campbell said it was "a rather astonishing application for employment" from someone who claimed to have been "sexually violated". The defence told the jury the alleged assault did not happen and suggested the complainant was likely asleep on a couch at Parliament House, not at Mr Ward's Potts Point apartment as he claimed. In the case of the younger complainant, Mr Campbell argued his version of events had undergone a "massive reconstruction" over the years. He said the man's memory was unreliable and reshaped by time, and the use of alcohol and other substances. The defence said the alleged back massage described by the complainant was not inherently sexual and did not amount to assault. Mr Campbell told the jury the man had continued a long-term social relationship with Mr Ward. The defence also said that when faced with such serious allegations, Mr Ward expressly denied it by entering a plea of not guilty. "After all these years, and in the absence of any additional material, what more could he say?" Mr Campbell asked. "He could only say, it did not happen." Mr Campbell concluded by arguing that the Crown had failed to discharge the burden of proof on any count. "Accordingly, Mr Ward should be found not guilty on each count in the indictment." An expanded panel of 13 jurors was empanelled at the start of the trial to account for its expected length, but only 12 will decide the outcome. Before deliberations begin, a ballot will be held to determine which juror will be excluded. The judge has begun giving her directions to the jury and has told them they can expect to retire to consider their verdict tomorrow.
News.com.au
3 days ago
- Politics
- News.com.au
Kiama MP Gareth Ward's criminal trial told of ‘unreliability' in closing address
A jury who have sat through the lengthy criminal trial of Kiama MP Gareth Ward have been told a man who alleges the MP sexually abused him has a 'certain unreliability'. Mr Ward, a NSW independent MP, was charged in March 2022 with three counts of assault with act of indecency, an alternative charge of common assault against an 18-year-old man at Meroo Meadow in 2013, and intercourse without consent against a 24-year-old man in Potts Point in 2015. Since his arrest three years ago, the 43-year-old has denied the allegations and pleaded not guilty to all counts. In the Darlinghurst District Court on Monday, defence barrister David Campbell SC continued his closing address, telling the court that the first complainant, a parliamentary staffer who was 24 at the time of the alleged incident, has a 'certain unreliability' when it comes to his memory. In evidence, the man was earlier asked about which particular event he was attending at Parliament House on the night in question, to which he said he couldn't recall 'exactly' but gave details as to which event he believed it was. 'I believed it was that event,' the man said. 'Do you think it, do you believe it or do you know it … what's the position?' Mr Campbell replied, to which the man stated he 'believes it'. Mr Campbell told the jury that what the man couldn't do was say he 'knows it'. 'He (the complainant) said that sometimes memories can meld together, particularly given the amount of time that has passed,' he said. 'Due to that corrosive effect on the memory, there must be a certain unreliability of what (name redacted) is now suggesting to you the jury.' Mr Campbell went on to thank the jury for their patience over the past eight weeks. 'This is the last chance we have to say anything to you on behalf of Mr Ward … and there may well be bits we haven't covered,' he said. 'Our submission to you is clearly this: The Crown has simply not discharged the burden it has in either of those two complainants' cases.' The barrister urged the jury to find the MP not guilty on all counts. Mr Ward is alleged to have assaulted a man, who had just turned 18 at the time, at the MP's South Coast home in February 2013. It's also alleged Mr Ward sexually assaulted another man – who was 24 years old at the time – at his Potts Point apartment in September 2015. Beginning his political career in 2011, Mr Ward was a councillor on the Shoalhaven Council before becoming the Liberal member for Kiama in 2011, a seat he has held since.
Vancouver Sun
5 days ago
- Business
- Vancouver Sun
Immigration fuels Atlantic Canadian 'economic renaissance,' authors argue
Canada is struggling with the effects of an unprecedented immigration boom: Housing shortages, youth unemployment, overtaxed social programs and more. But in Atlantic Canada, those irritants are largely overshadowed by a much different story: the transformation of moribund and stagnant economies that made the region Canada's poor cousin. The authors of a new book detail the dramatic improvements newcomers are bringing to the East Coast — and argue this is no time to swerve. They argue only for a more strategic immigration policy, one that reflects the region's economic needs. In Toward Prosperity, The Transformation of Atlantic Canada's Economy, former pollster Don Mills and economist David Campbell highlight how increasing immigration in the past five years has boosted the economy of a stagnant region with the oldest population in the country. Start your day with a roundup of B.C.-focused news and opinion. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder. The next issue of Sunrise will soon be in your inbox. Please try again Interested in more newsletters? Browse here. 'Provincial governments across Atlantic Canada have finally understood the implications for an aging population and the need for population growth: all four provinces in the region now have population growth strategies, with immigration as a core focus of those strategies,' they write. Nova Scotia seeks to double its population to two million by 2060, and New Brunswick, where the population was pegged at 854,355 last year, is aiming for one million people within the decade, according to their 2025 book published by Halifax-based Nimbus. 'Most of the region's largest municipalities now have their own population growth strategies as well,' Mills and Campbell write. 'All these population strategies acknowledge the critical role of immigration to drive labour force and population growth.' Last year, after three years of especially rapid growth in Canada's immigration population, the Liberals under Justin Trudeau announced they were reducing the number of permanent residents admitted to the country by 21 per cent. Earlier this year, Prime Minister Mark Carney pledged to cap the total number of temporary workers and international students to less than five per cent of Canada's population within two years. Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre this month called for 'very hard caps' on the number of newcomers allowed into the country. He told reporters the country has struggled to integrate newcomers and he wants to see more people leaving than coming in 'while we catch up.' 'We have millions of people whose permits will expire over the next couple of years, and many of them will leave,' Poilievre said. 'We need more people leaving than coming for the next couple years.' In 2022, the Canadian population rose by over a million people for the first time in history — and then kept growing faster. According to Statistics Canada, the population reached 40,769,890 on Jan. 1, 2024. That was an increase of 1,271,872 people in a single year — a 3.2 per cent jump, marking the highest annual population growth rate in Canada since 1957. In an interview, Mills said Atlantic Canada needs smarter and targeted immigration. 'I believe in growth under control,' Mills said. 'It got a little out of hand under the Trudeau Liberals. They opened the gates too quickly and it really hurt the housing market and put strains on our health-care and education systems for sure.' It got a little out of hand under the Trudeau Liberals. They opened the gates too quickly and it really hurt the housing market and put strains on our health care and education systems for sure Prince Edward Island was the first Atlantic province to boost immigration levels, he said. The littlest province has been among the country's leaders in economic growth since. But the island's population growth rate peaked at three per cent in 2023 — too much, too fast, Mills says. 'We argue in the book for growth under control — somewhere between one and 1.5 per cent is something that we can manage. We still have an ageing population in Atlantic Canada; we need people to fill the jobs of the large group of Baby Boomers who are retiring from the workforce and there's simply not enough people behind to fill the jobs that we already have. Not just what we have, but what we need to further grow the economy.' Mills sees the current immigration rethink as a wise thing, as Ottawa figures out the right number of newcomers. It would be a mistake though, both he and Campbell argue, if the Carney government didn't listen to individual provinces about their immigration needs, including on international student numbers. 'We've had really great immigration into places like Miramichi (N.B.), into places like Summerside (P.E.I.), and even in places like Yarmouth (N.S.) and I worry that's all going to be lost if they keep clamping down on these numbers,' Campbell said. 'Cutting workforce, in our opinion, is like cutting capital. You need three things to have a strong economy. You need capital, you need people, and you need ideas. And if you don't have one of those three, you're going to be in trouble.' Mills uses his own business as an example: When he sold his polling firm, now known as Narrative Research, in late 2018, Mills, along with his son and brother, acquired Cabco, an infrastructure cabling business. Since the purchase in the spring of 2019, the company has grown from 40 to 100 employees. 'We're continuously recruiting for people,' he said. 'It's hard to find skilled people.' The company turned to immigrants to help fill the gap. 'They're great workers,' Mills said. 'They have a certain ambition that sometimes seems lacking in native-born Canadians.' In the early 2000s, as young, educated and ambitious immigrants flocked to other parts of Canada, Atlantic Canada had a workforce problem, which left businesses reluctant to invest in the region. 'They were not sure there was going to be enough workers,' Campbell said. In their book, the authors describe Atlantic Canada as being 'in the early stage of an economic renaissance' fueled by immigration. 'One of the main reasons why we're optimistic is because we've seen … record levels of population growth across the region, even in Newfoundland and Labrador now, and we feel that will be the impetus for the rest of what needs to happen, such as natural resources development,' Campbell said. If the region could maintain a 'modest level of population growth through immigration,' its future would be 'fairly bright,' Campbell said. The authors point again to P.E.I. The province was able to leverage a greater share of the federal immigration allotment to develop its biosciences and aerospace sectors. Mills points to the island's BioAlliance, a private sector-led not-for-profit organization dedicated to building the bioscience industry in P.E.I. that just celebrated its 20th anniversary. 'Over that period of time they've grown it to … 60 companies and the last time I looked their annual revenues were exceeding $600 million — mostly export dollars, which are really valuable.' As many as 3,000 people are employed in the cluster, Mills said, equating it to auto manufacturing in Ontario. The authors make a series of other recommendations to maintain East Coast economic momentum, including 'becoming a green energy superpower' by setting up offshore wind power platforms off places like Sable Island, and developing small modular nuclear reactors. Nova Scotia's Progressive Conservative government has introduced legislation allowing the province's power utility to own a nuclear plant. Campbell and Mills also push for measures easing natural resource development, which could help Atlantic Canada move away from its dependence on equalization payments. If you look at the provinces in Canada that are the strongest, they are the provinces that have oil and gas 'If you really want to eliminate or significantly reduce transfer payments you've got to develop your natural resources, including natural gas, and if you have it, oil,' Campbell said. 'Because the reality is, if you look at the provinces in Canada that are the strongest, they are the provinces that have oil and gas.' A Fraser Institute survey last year of senior mining executives found that, in terms of government policy, Nova Scotia was 'the least-attractive province, ranking 36th out of 86 jurisdictions, with only the Northwest Territories and Nunavut performing worse in Canada.' 'Miners are skittish because every time somebody wants to do a mine, the pitchforks come out,' Campbell said. 'People are really, really nervous about mining, oil and gas, and aquaculture — anything that might have any kind of an impact on the environment. And we've got to find a way to get people beyond that and accept the fact that you've got to develop your natural resources. You have to have high environmental standards, but if they can do it in Saskatchewan, if they can do it in B.C., if they can do it in Alberta, we have to be able to do it down here.' The authors also argue the region needs to 'become more tax competitive' by lowering personal income tax rates and ensuring corporate taxes are competitive. A recent Fraser Institute study indicates that 'Nova Scotia (at 21 per cent) and Newfoundland & Labrador (at 21.8 per cent) have the highest top marginal provincial personal income tax rates in Canada. New Brunswick (at 19.5 per cent) and Prince Edward Island (at 19 per cent) are also higher than most other provinces.' Growing the population with new immigrants adds more taxpayers, Mills said. 'This should be an opportunity to bring our taxes in line with other provinces in the country,' Mills said. 'But the biggest problem that we still have is governments continue to spend way over what they bring in. That is a systemic problem. Until we get that under control, it's going to be very difficult to get our taxes under control.' This is the latest in a National Post series on How Canada Wins. Read earlier instalments here. Our website is the place for the latest breaking news, exclusive scoops, longreads and provocative commentary. 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Daily Mail
5 days ago
- Politics
- Daily Mail
Why an invitation to dance was used to attack sex abuse claims against MP
A teen's friendly texts to a state MP and a decision to dance with him alone raised questions about whether claimed sexual abuse by the politician even occurred, a jury has been told. Kiama MP Gareth Ward, 44, is on trial in the NSW District Court after pleading not guilty to sexual intercourse without consent and indecent assault charges. He is accused of inviting a drunk 18-year-old man to his South Coast home in February 2013. The man told the jury Ward plied him with drinks before indecently assaulting him three times in one night, despite his attempts to resist. Ward's barrister David Campbell SC questioned these allegations during his closing address to the jury on Friday, saying the teen's conduct in 2014 and 2015 suggested the claimed abuse did not take place. At a party in 2015, the alleged victim called Ward onto the dance floor with video played to the jury showing pair dancing alone, the jury was told. 'Is that the sort of conduct you'd expect from someone who says they've been previously sexually violated by this man?' Mr Campbell asked. In 2014, the alleged victim and Ward exchanged friendly texts, including when the teen moved interstate for a few months. In November 2013, they discussed catching up before Christmas. 'Would love to. Miss you guys!' Ward texted. 'Don't go sappy on me, big fellow. Ha ha, let's do it,' the alleged victim replied. Mr Campbell again asked the jury if that was the sort of conduct they would expect if the teen had been sexually violated months before. The long-time MP has also been accused of sexually assaulting an intoxicated political staffer after a mid-week event at NSW Parliament House in 2015. The man, who was 24 at the time, said Ward climbed into bed with him, groped his backside, and sexually assaulted him despite him repeatedly saying 'no'. Both complainants attributed Ward's elevation to minister for families, communities and disability services in 2019 as a 'breaking point' to report their allegations to police, crown prosecutor Monika Knowles told jurors earlier on Friday. She was addressing the alleged victims' delay in reporting the matter to police, which led to Ward not being charged with the offences until 2022. Both were scared for their jobs if they went to police and feared Ward's 'power', Ms Knowles submitted. She pointed to a conversation one complainant had with a colleague after former Premier Gladys Berejiklian's 2019 state election win. '(They) said to (the colleague) that Gladys had selected a rapist as the minister for children in the cabinet ... upon further questioning (he) said quite seriously that the accused had raped him,' she told the court. The other complainant 'liked the feeling of 'being in'' and was a friend of Ward at the time of the alleged incident, along with an important business contact, the Crown said. The defence closings continue on Monday.
