Known as the “Golden Tonsils”, Laws was one of Australia’s most recognisable voices in talkback radio. He started his career at Bendigo’s 3BO in 1953 and went on to work for four of the biggest radio stations in Sydney.
Laws capped off a 13-year stint at radio network 2SM in 2024, ending a career spanning 71 years.
Sydney’s King of morning radio, 2UE’s John Laws (left) gets the ultimate gift – his own gold microphone from Chairman of radio 2UE, Mr. John Conde. March 19, 1993. Credit: John Conde
He became widely known during his several stints at Sydney station 2UE, and for his rivalry with Alan Jones. After stepping away from the industry for four years, Laws returned to radio in 2011 with The John Laws Morning Show on 2SM.
Over the decades, Laws built a reputation as a formidable interviewer of politicians of all persuasions, and for striking up friendships with a string of prime ministers and influencing mainstream political opinion.
John Laws at a private gathering after the funeral for John Fordham in 2019.Credit: Steven Siewert
It was during an interview with John Laws in May 1986, for example, and while prime minister Bob Hawke was travelling overseas, that Paul Keating issued his famous warning that Australia was in danger of becoming a “banana republic”, code for a third rate economy, after some poor economic news.
‘Telling it straight’
In paying tribute, Albanese offered condolences to his “loved ones and to all who benefited from his wisdom and guidance.”
“Generations of Australians trusted and respected him for telling it straight, digging deep and giving his guests and his listeners a chance to be heard,” he posted on X.
Radio host Kyle Sandilands mourned the loss of a “mentor and a mate”.
NSW Premier Chris Minns called Laws a “towering figure in Australian radio whose voice resonated across the nation for more than seven decades”.
“His legacy lies not only in the thousands of hours on air, but in the connection he forged with millions of Australians,” Minns said in a statement.
Former Nationals leader Barnaby Joyce said he had known Laws all his life, and that “good talkback hosts have a rolled gold attribute for success; they are very clever with the facts and brilliant with the psychology”.
“From his time at 2LF to the end at 2SM he never lost that. I am genuinely sad, I think we would call each other mates.”
Opposition Leader Sussan Ley said Australia had lost a true pioneer of broadcasting with the passing of John Laws.
“His unmistakable voice became part of our national soundtrack. He informed and entertained millions, asked the tough questions and always made space for others to be heard. He helped shape public debate with a style that was fearless, perceptive and unmistakably his own,” she said. “My thoughts are with his family, his friends and all who admired him. His legacy will echo for years to come.”
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Accolades, influence and ‘cash for comment’
In 1999, Laws and Jones were the subject of the infamous “cash for comment” affair in which Laws was accused of editorialising paid advertisements for brands including Qantas, Foxtel and others without disclosing them. He was found to have breached the advertising code in 2004 in a second scandal.
He breached the broadcasting watchdog’s codes several times beyond then.
In 2014, the communications watchdog, the Australian Communications and Media Authority, found he had breached the code’s privacy provisions after he had read on-air the full name and phone number of a listener who had criticised his program. He again breached the code in 2020 over a “dangerous” suicide insult to a listener.
Laws received the OBE in 1974, then the CBE in 1978, as well as being awarded International Broadcaster of the Year in 2004. He was inducted into the Commercial Radio Hall of Fame, the Australian Media Hall of Fame, and the Country Music Association Hall of Fame during his career.
John Laws wielded enormous power and political leaders used him to connect with a large listener base. Credit:
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