An Australian politician has denied rumors that he was drunk when he showed up to his office in his underwear.
Kiama MP Gareth Ward reportedly showed up to state parliament around 4 a.m. July 21 wearing "a T-shirt, underwear and socks," according to a parliamentary security report obtained by The Daily Telegraph on Wednesday.
Ward said he walked from his home to parliament after he locked himself out of his apartment without his phone.
"Having been awoken and responding to a noise at the rear of my apartment, I locked myself out of my property in the early hours of 21 July," Ward said in a statement. "Given it was freezing at around 4am in July, with no prospect of getting a locksmith, not having my phone and with my property around eight minutes' walk/jog to parliament, I went to parliament to get my spare key."
The politician denied any rumors that he was drunk, calling them "defamatory," as reported by The Guardian. Ward said in the Thursday statement, "This is this sort of gutter journalism that sees faith in some journalists fall to an all-time low. I will be making no further comment."
The former minister moved to the crossbench after he was charged with sexual assault offences dating back several years. Ward had denied the charges, and is due in court next year, as reported by the Sydney Morning Herald.
After being suspended from parliament, he was re-elected as an independent in 2023, and returned to parliament in his South Coast seat.
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