Talkback radio veteran John Laws dies aged 90

Legendary radio broadcaster John Laws has been remembered as a “towering figure” and one of the “true originals”, as political leaders and celebrities paid tribute following his death at the age of 90.

Laws’ family announced his death on Sunday night, saying the former broadcaster, who became one of Australia’s most recognisable talkback radio voices, had remained in “good health and even better spirits right up until the last few weeks”.

While Laws was a well-known public figure who had listeners Australia-wide, his family described him as a beloved father, grandfather and uncle.

“While fame and prominence had become a mainstay of his life, for us he was always the person who meant so much, away from the microphone, the cameras, and the headlines,” the statement read.

“Today marks a very difficult day for our family, with the news that our beloved father/grandfather/uncle John Laws has died peacefully at home.”

NSW Premier Chris Minns described Laws as a “towering figure in Australian radio whose voice resonated across the nation for more than seven decades”. Laws’ family have accepted the offer of a state funeral, with details to be announced at a later date.

“His legacy lies not only in the thousands of hours on air, but in the connection he forged with millions of Australians,” Minns said.

Oscar-winning actor Russell Crowe described Laws as “a wise mentor, mischievous mate and a very good friend”.

“He worked hard, played harder and loved completely. A legend, in the very best, most Australian, sense of the word,” Crowe wrote on X.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said Laws had been “an iconic voice and so much more”.

“I spoke to him many times as PM, and as leader of the opposition, and as minister going back a long, long way,” Albanese told Nova FM.

“You could just have a genuine conversation with him and he was interested, he allowed you to speak, he had strong views that he would put himself, but it was a genuine conversation, and I don’t think there’ll be another like him.”

Laws’ legacy

Known as “Golden Tonsils”, Laws started his career at Bendigo’s 3BO in 1953 and went on to work for four of the biggest radio stations in Sydney.

During Laws’ most dominant period, from the late 1970s through to the turn of the century, political leaders, entertainers and advertisers in particular used him to reach the masses through up to 100 stations across Australia.

Former prime ministers cite his role in communicating public policy and fostering debate as central to community support for the reforms of the 1980s and 1990s. Indeed, former prime minister Paul Keating said: “If you educate John Laws, you educate middle Australia.”

It was during an interview with John Laws in May 1986, and while prime minister Bob Hawke was travelling overseas, that 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.

In another extraordinary episode, Keating took the broadcaster to the Reserve Bank building in Sydney, where the country’s senior economic boffins gave him a briefing on the economy and the ramifications of some of the reforms being pursued by the government.

Laws capped off a 13-year stint at radio network 2SM in 2024, ending a career spanning 71 years. 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.

‘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”.

Former 2GB host Ray Hadley described Laws as “the king of radio”.

“He started careers, he helped careers,” Hadley said in a video posted by The Daily Telegraph.

“Many of the things I did on my radio program had their genesis in John Laws, because he was the best, without peer.

“He was gifted in his craft, he was able to extract things from politicians that no one else could.”

Former broadcaster Alan Jones said in a statement that “the passing of John Laws requires volumes to do it justice”.

“What terrified politicians about him was that he could read the pulse of the nation when few politicians can,” Jones said.

“I can’t believe the innings is over.”

Country music singer and Laws’ friend John Williamson said station staff “treated [Laws] as God” when the pair toured through regional Australia.

Williamson wrote jingles for Laws’ radio programs. “It didn’t take me long to do it, it was a lot of fun.

“Him playing all those jingles made a lot of difference to my career,” Williamson said.

Fellow broadcaster Steve Price told ABC News that Laws was “probably the greatest ever live radio performer this country has produced”.

“He was tapped in to what average Australians were going through,” Price said.

“I couldn’t ever pick what Lawsie actually was thinking politically.

“He did a lot of things for people behind the scenes that no one knew about.”

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.”

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.

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