Morning Show Host Retires After 71 Years, Exit Announced On-Air: John Laws Speaks Out

Australian broadcasting icon John Laws, affectionately known as the “Golden Tonsils,” has announced his retirement after a 71-year career in radio. The 89-year-old veteran host broke the news during his morning show on 2SM, catching listeners and industry insiders off guard.

Laws, whose distinctive voice has been a staple of Australian airwaves for generations, revealed his decision in response to a listener’s email. “You’re not going to be hearing it for long, mate,” Laws said, addressing the fan’s appreciation of his program. “I think it’s time for a rest. I’ve done it for a very, very, very, very long time. And I think that I’ll just call it a day, and call it a day pretty soon,” per news.com.au.

The legendary broadcaster pinpointed early November as his likely departure date, coinciding with his 71st anniversary on air. “I don’t want to be greedy,” Laws reflected. “I’ve had 71 fantastic years … and loved almost every minute of it.” This announcement marks a significant shift from his previous stance on retirement, having told The Daily Telegraph just last year, “I don’t think about retirement. I suppose I will have to one day but no, I don’t want to stop, I’d like to be doing it when I am 100.”

Laws emphasized that this retirement would be permanent, unlike his previous departure from radio in 2007. “I’m not going to go away and then come back again and say, ‘oh, it was all a mistake,’” he stated firmly. “It may well be a mistake, but there’ll be no return. That’s it.”

The broadcaster’s career spans over seven decades, beginning at Bendigo’s 3BO in 1953. He became a household name during his tenure at Sydney’s 2UE, where he garnered a massive following and engaged in a famous rivalry with fellow broadcaster Alan Jones, according to The Sydney Morning Herald. Laws’ influence on Australian media was so extensive that former Prime Minister Paul Keating once dubbed him “the broadcaster of the century.”

However, Laws’ career has not been without controversy. In 1999, he was embroiled in the infamous “cash for comment” scandal, accused of presenting paid advertisements as editorial content without proper disclosure, per the outlet. This led to a breach of the advertising code in 2004 during a second scandal reported the outlet. More recently, Laws has faced reprimands from the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) for privacy violations and inappropriate on-air comments.

Despite these setbacks, Laws’ popularity remained largely undiminished. After a brief retirement in 2007, he returned to the airwaves in 2011, joining 2SM, where he has hosted The John Laws Morning Show for the past 13 years.

As he prepares for life after radio, Laws shared his plans with listeners: “I’ll travel, I’ll sit about, I’ll read more … and I’ll catch up with things that I should have caught up with a long time ago.”  He acknowledged that the transition would be challenging, given his deep love for broadcasting and the central role it has played in his life. Last November, he remarked to The Daily Telegraph, “That will be a big moment for me because I’ve done this for so long and I like it so much that it will come as a great shock not to be able to sit behind a microphone and talk to people.”