A Kiama councillor has labelled the Illawarra’s parliamentary secretary a “c--t” and a “f---ing arrogant turd” for refusing to cross the floor on council mergers.

Liberal MP Gareth Ward voted against a Labor Party motion to prioritise a merger debate in State Parliament on Tuesday. 

The motion opposed the government’s plan, condemned boundary changes and called for release of the full KPMG report. 

Mr Ward’s failure to move got Neil Reilly – a one-time Labor candidate for Gilmore, now independent Kiama councillor – riled and prompted him to embark on a text message tirade. 

The unprovoked messages, seen by the Mercury, were sent to Mr Ward on Tuesday night.

The group message included a second mobile phone number, which was unknown to Mr Ward.

“What a surprise. Your contribution to the debate will adorn text books. This will never been [sic] forgotten. Thank you for acting as predicted,” Cr Reilly’s initial message, at 7.29pm, read. 

In reply, Mr Ward said the councillor didn’t understand parliamentary procedure and the motion “makes no difference” to the merger process.

What followed was a one-word response from Cr Reilly: “C—t”, then “We will win. You f---ing arrogant turd. We are better than you.”

[Scroll down to see the text message conversation]

Mr Ward, the Kiama MP, sent all Kiama councillors and directors an email with a screenshot of that message on Wednesday morning. 

In the email, the MP said he appreciated passionate contributions, but the message “falls far short of the standards residents would expect from elected representatives”. 

Asked why the messages were sent, Cr Reilly said it was a private conversation and was disappointed it had been made public. 

“There was a conversation, it was pretty brief and pretty abrupt. I used some pretty colourful language and I apologised to him via another text,” he said.

“It’s a difficult and passionate situation that we’re in with this amalgamation and I think I wanted some straight answers and didn’t receive them.” 

Cr Reilly said he had “kept confidence” with a number of text messages from Mr Ward and the other phone number was an old contact for him.

However, the Mercury understands it was another person who is yet to be identified. 

“I apologise for the message and I do that unreservedly. I was speaking privately, not as a councillor,” he said. Mr Ward said the remarks “speak for themselves”.

“I could refer this to the [council’s] code of conduct committee but I don’t want to put ratepayers to any unnecessary expense to deal with language that should not be spoken of,” he said.

Shellharbour MP Anna Watson also voiced her irritation at Mr Ward’s actions. 

In a media release issued just minutes after the vote, the Labor MP accused the Kiama MP of again showing “he says one thing in Macquarie Street and another in Terralong Street”. 

Mr Ward said he wouldn’t be lectured by Ms Watson, who “couldn’t even be bothered to attend the public inquiry”.

“The priority debate has no policy effect or legislative weight,” he said.