The NSW opposition is urging the Liberal Party to rule out preferencing controversial former Liberal MP Gareth Ward on the state's south coast.
Yesterday, Mr Ward confirmed he would stand as an Independent candidate for the seat of Kiama at the state election next month.
Mr Ward was suspended from the NSW Parliament last May after he was charged with five counts of historic sexual abuse and refused to resign.
Mr Ward has strongly denied the charges, which remain before the courts.
In January, NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet visited Kiama and rejected suggestions the Liberal Party was going to run dead in the seat, effectively allowing Mr Ward to win it.
Three months on and the party has not announced a candidate for the seat.
A Liberal Party spokesman said nominations for a Liberal candidate to run in the seat of Kiama closed on Friday, and it was too early to announce pre-selections.
Shadow Treasurer Daniel Mookhey said the Liberal Party should make clear they will not preference Mr Ward.
"Ultimately, (the Liberal Party) should be nominating a candidate and should be ruling out preferencing Mr Ward," Mr Mookhey said.
He said union organiser Katelin McInerney was Labor's Kiama candidate.
"(She) will be a fresh start for Kiama and she is capable of doing the job without any of the controversy surrounding the current member," Mr Mookhey said.
At a media conference today, NSW Treasurer Matt Kean said the Liberals were confident they would win the seat.
"The Liberal Party will be running in Kiama and we will be winning in Kiama. We will seek to beat Gareth Ward … and I'm confident that's what we'll do," Mr Kean told reporters.
Mr Ward won the seat for the Liberals in 2019, with 53.59 per cent of the primary vote.
Yesterday, in a statement to social media announcing he would contest the election, Mr Ward said he believed in "fairness and due process".
"Whilst some commentators believe the presumption of innocence is an optional extra, it isn't," Mr Ward told his followers.
"It's a human right and fundamental to our system of justice."
Detectives allege Mr Ward indecently assaulted a 17-year-old boy in 2013 and sexually abused a 27-year-old man two years later.
He is due to appear next on the charges at Sydney's Downing Centre for a hearing on February 13.
Mr Perrottet has been contacted for comment.
