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Australian Talkback Icon John Laws Dies at 90

The 'Golden Tonsils' shaped Australian talkback radio over a 71-year career from Bendigo's 3BO to Sydney's 2SM.

Overview

  • Industry sources confirmed his death, with a family statement expected Sunday night.
  • Laws began at Bendigo’s 3BO in 1953 and became a defining Sydney voice through multiple 2UE stints.
  • He ended a 13-year run hosting The John Laws Morning Show on 2SM in 2024 after returning to radio in 2011.
  • His career included the 1999 cash-for-comment scandal and a 2004 finding that he breached the advertising code.
  • ACMA later ruled against him in 2014 for a privacy breach and in 2020 over an on-air insult related to suicide.