Comments On Theft By Man With Special Needs
In 2011, Laws made written and spoken comments on an incident in Christchurch, involving a young man with Asperger syndrome who was arrested for minor theft in the aftermath of the February 2011 Christchurch earthquake. He was widely criticized for his unsympathetic remarks about the case, saying that the 25 year-old was "bloody lucky that he received only a black eye" whilst in police custody. Laws refused to back down on his comments arguing that "Asperger's is not an excuse to commit crime". Despite numerous complaints, both Mediaworks and the Broadcasting Standards Authority found that his views had not breached broadcasting guidelines.
In November 2011 he was suspended by Mediaworks after critical comments of journalists and the media in their coverage of the 2011 general election, and especially their role in the so-called "teagate scandal". No explanation was provided by either Mediaworks or Laws, but in late December 2011, mediaworks announced Laws would resume broadcasting his talkback show from 9 January 2012.
Read more about this topic: Michael Laws
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