'Silly mistake' or pattern? Laws' sexism scandals through the years

Just days out from the election, New Zealand First’s number six candidate Michael Laws has attracted unwanted attention for sexist comments about the Opportunity Party’s female candidates. 

Party leader Winston Peters has described the remarks as a “silly mistake”, saying Laws “used some silly words he never used before”. 

But the latest controversy is far from the first time Laws has faced criticism over comments about women, with a history of remarks that have been condemned as sexist. 

Laws has apologised for causing offence after a “telling off” from Peters but stands by his previous controversies, saying they have either been taken out of context or were merely jokes. 

The Herald has searched its archive to catalogue some of Laws’ controversies concerning comments about women over the years. 

When put to Laws, he said they were not sexist, and pointed to having a strong partner and daughters as evidence. 

Laws suggests some women ‘invite’ domestic abuse 

In March 2012, Laws was serving a term as Whanganui Mayor, while also a broadcaster on RadioLive. 

During a segment on the talk show, Laws asked listeners to ring in about a joint survey conducted by Women’s Refuge and the SPCA. 

One-third of survey respondents said they had stayed in abusive relationships because of threats made to their pets – a notion Laws described as “moronic” and “barely credible”. 

“Do we need to feel any sympathy for women, or men, in plights such as these? Do these women deserve to be abused almost, in fact invited, if that’s their reason for staying?” 

He said he was against domestic violence but claimed the White Ribbon campaign did more harm than good. 

“It’s a limp-wristed, feel-good approach that does no good, and is anti-male. In fact, I would suggest that the White Ribbon campaign is offensive to most men,” Laws said. 

A complaint about the broadcast was not upheld by the Broadcast Standards Authority, which said it was his personal opinion shared in a robust talkback environment. 

Laws compares woman to dog, asks her to ‘wear a muzzle’ 

That same month, Laws interviewed American Pit Bull Terrier Association spokeswoman Karen Batchelor, where the pair had a heated exchange. 

In the interview, Laws asked her about dog bites and accused Batchelor of misquoting statistics and making untrue statements, prompting her to complain to Radioworks. 

Laws told her she was “just as bad as your dogs”, and asked, “can you wear a muzzle,” during the exchange. 

The comment amounted to unacceptable personal abuse and Laws’ over-aggressive approach breached the standard of fairness, the Broadcasting Standards Authority found in October that year, and RadioLive was ordered to apologise. 

Later that month he left RadioLive, and Sean Plunket took over his slot. 

Michael Laws also served as Mayor of Whanganui from 2004 to 2010. Photo / Ross Setford 

Kiwi women have ‘abortions by the bucketload’, contraception their responsibility 

Laws wrote a column in the Sunday Star Times in May 2012 discussing abortion, contraception, and sex, in response to Government moves at the time to give free contraceptives to beneficiaries. 

“Only women can get pregnant, so only women should take responsibility for contraception,” he wrote. 

“The idea that males should second guess some exotic situation has always bemused. Conception and therefore contraception are the exclusive preserve of women. 

“Women can choose to have an abortion no matter what the father wants. His view is irrelevant. And Kiwi women have abortions by the bucketload, some 16,600 a year – an incredible number whatever one’s moral stance.” 

Laws’ views on abortion came to light again the following year, when he told the father of a disabled child that the man had “drawn the short straw” with his child. 

Laws called the man a “retard” and a “fascist”. 

Unhealthy ‘bums’ not ‘sexy’ Laws says on social media 

In 2022, while serving a term on Otago Regional Council, Laws took to Facebook to discuss women’s bodies and obesity concerns, in remarks condemned as “sexist”. 

“When did girls with lovely faces/breasts but unhealthy bums/legs become sexy?” Laws asked. 

“Have I missed the memo? It used to be that ‘it’ girls had ‘it’ all over. These ‘icons’ couldn’t run 100 metres let alone 200 metres. 

“They are FAT,” Laws declared, “Sorry – just true”. 

Asked about the post by the Otago Daily Times, Laws said he was “afraid the toxicity of social media is killing freedom of speech”. 

“In each of those forums, I’ve raised the role model issue and the appalling example being set our young by those claiming that surgically enhanced, made-up poster girls who are obese ... are somehow great examples for our youth.” 

It was nothing he had not said many times before. 

“I won’t be shut down by whiners and whingers who think obesity and morbid obesity are good things,” he said. 

The post drew a negative reaction from the page’s audience, with comments calling Laws “sexist”, “disgusting”, and a “creep”. 

Following the backlash, ORC chairman Andrew Noone said he spoke with Laws about the issue. 

Noone reiterated Laws’ comments were made in his private capacity. 

“[They] are not views shared by the ORC.” 

Laws defends comments, points to ‘strong female partner, very strong daughters’ 

Approached for comment for this story, Laws said the comments were made “a long time ago” and accused the Herald of bias for publishing words he believes have been taken “out of context”. 

“I didn’t say that they deserve to be abused,” he said of the domestic violence comments. 

When the Herald read him his direct quote of “do these women deserve to be abused almost,” Laws said, “I think you’re taking me out of context”. 

He said the discussion at the time was about women who “placed their pets above their children when it came to the safety of their households”. 

As for the comments about Batchelor wearing a muzzle, Laws said “that was a scrap about pitbull terriers and whether or not they should be near children, and I was chastising her for suggesting that pitbull terriers were a good family pet”. 

Asked about the Sunday Star Times column about New Zealand women getting abortions by the bucketload, Laws said “that was written in 2012, that was 14 years ago, you’re not seriously thinking that, no, listen, you’re obviously biased”. 

Of his 2022 Facebook post about women’s “FAT” bodies, Laws said, “that was a joke”. 

“That had to do with the influencers who were seeking to portray themselves as desirable but living incredibly unhealthy lifestyles, and I was pointing out the contradiction.” 

Asked whether he accepted criticisms that the comments were sexist, Laws did not. 

“No, of course they weren’t, I have a long history, for God’s sake, I’ve got a strong female partner, very strong daughters,” he said. 

“If you went back into the history of just about everybody over the last 12 years and misquoted them, I’m sure you could get an even more interesting story,” Laws said, before hanging up. 

‘It’s a live issue’: Peters says he has not yet dealt with Laws properly after sexist comments, says it’s not too late to get rid of him 

New Zealand First leader Winston Peters told the Herald today that he has not yet had a chance to deal with Michael Laws properly but is not going to stop his campaign to do so. 

Asked why he would not simply sack Laws as a candidate, Peters said the party’s list had already been established, making any changes difficult. 

“You cannot just do it like that there, you’ve got to act at a time appropriately and we haven’t had a chance to even meet and talk about this issue. 

“The party’s brassed off, the women in the party are very annoyed because they’ve done so much work to get this party where it is.” 

Peters told the Herald: “We can’t address it now, but we’ll address it when we can. 

“We’re going to have a discussion, so until we have a discussion, it’s a live issue, yes.” 

Ethan Manera is a Wellington-based journalist covering Wellington issues, local politics and business in the capital. He can be emailed at ethan.manera@nzme.co.nz.