Convicted rapist quits Australian parliament after losing bid to stay

Gareth Ward was convicted of rape last month but refused to resign from his electorate.

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Gareth Ward, 44, was last month found guilty of sexually assaulting two young men, aged 18 and 24, between 2013 and 2015, and is now in custody pending sentencing.

Earlier this week, Ward launched a legal bid to stop the New South Wales (NSW) parliament from expelling him, but it was dismissed on Thursday after the court rejected arguments that the move was an "affront" to democracy.

Plans to expel him on Friday were thwarted when, less than two hours before a vote to remove him was due, Ward quit as the independent member for Kiama.

Ward's resignation letter was received by parliament at 09:08 local time on Friday (00:08 GMT), shortly before a vote at 10:30 was due to expel him.