Michael Laws
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Michael Laws (b 1957) is a New Zealand politician and media personality who had two terms as a Member of the New Zealand Parliament (MP), for the National Party and then New Zealand First,. He is currently Mayor of Wanganui.
Laws was born in Wairoa but his parents moved to Wanganui where he was educated at Tawhero Primary School, Wanganui Intermediate School and Wanganui Boys' College. His father, Keith Laws, had a distinguished education career and was principal/headmaster of Waitaki Boys' High School (Oamaru) and then Scots College (Wellington). Michael Laws left school, spent two seasons at the Whakatu freezing works before entering Otago University where he graduated with first class honours in history and earned a UGC Postgraduate Scholarship. (He later graduated Master of Arts from Victoria University). During his time at Otago he attracted controversy as a key member of a student organisation that supported the 1981 Springbok Tour. He was also an accomplished public speaker and captained both the NZ Universities and New Zealand debating teams in the early-mid 1980s.
Having become involved in the youth wing of the National Party, Laws worked as a parliamentary researcher for National between 1985 and 1989. Most of his time was spent as a senior researcher and press secretary including assisting National rebel Winston Petersfrom 1987-89. In the 1987 elections, Laws stood as the National candidate for the Hawke's Bay seat, but failed to defeat the incumbent Bill Sutton of the Labour Party. In the 1990 elections, however, Laws wrested the seat from Sutton to enter parliament. In the 1993 elections he retained his seat despite a significant swing away from the National Party.
Renegade MP
Laws never had a good relationship with the National Party's senior hierarchy. As a researcher he had done much of his work for Winston Peters who party leader Jim Bolger looked upon with disapproval. Tensions persisted between Laws and Bolger after Laws became an MP, made worse by Laws' declaration that he would attempt to follow popular opinion in Hawke's Bay rather than National Party policy. Laws voted against his party on a number of issues, joining several other dissident MPs to oppose the economic policies of the Minister of Finance Ruth Richardson. He also championed the unsuccessful "Death with Dignity" bill, which aimed to legalise euthanasia. The terminal illness of Cam Campion, a fellow dissident in Laws' first term in parliament, prompted this advocacy.
Throughout his parliamentary career, rumours frequently circulated that Laws planned to join a new party. When Gilbert Myles and Hamish MacIntyre, angry about Ruth Richardson's policies, founded the new Liberal Party, they invited Laws to join them, but he declined. Later, when his old boss Winston Peters established the New Zealand First party, rumours claimed Laws had considered changing parties, but eventually decided that New Zealand First lacked the organisation and principle for success. Finally, Laws became involved in discussions with Mike Moore, former leader (1990 - 1993) of the Labour Party, to establish a new centrist party. It did not eventuate, however, with Laws claiming that Moore showed unwillingness to commit to it. In the end, Laws' relationship with the National Party deteriorated to the point where he no longer attended caucus meetings, and he decided to join New Zealand First in April 1996.
Antoinette Beck scandal
Laws did not remain in parliament much longer, however, due to the 'Antoinette Beck' political scandal. Laws employed a company part-owned by his wife to conduct a poll, using public money. Laws claimed that "there had been no profit to either company or individuals", and an official inquiry confirmed that there had only been a minor and unintentional breach of regulations. However, Laws' conduct during the matter attracted strong criticism, with Laws misleading the public on a number of issues. He eventually chose to resign from parliament. Differing opinions exist over the whole controversy. Laws acknowledges that he did things which he should not have done, but portrays the scandal as a relatively minor matter which his numerous political enemies blew out of proportion. His opponents paint Laws as corrupt. Official investigations by the Police, Serious Fraud Office and Auditor-General found he had no case to answer. The latter found he made "an honest mistake" in not declaring his wife Karen's shareholding in the company that contracted to the Napier City Council to conduct a public communications. It was this poll that led to the Antoinette Beck affair, named for the fact that the poll in question was signed off by someone using this name.
He was unsuccessfully sued for defamation by two of his principal protagonists in the Antoinette Beck affair, and personally defended himself in the Napier High Court in December 1997. Costs of over $200,000 were decided against the joint plaintiffs and this court victory is credited with reigniting Laws' public career.
Although he had left parliament, Laws remained involved in politics, managing New Zealand First's campaign for the general elections held on 12 October 1996. He would later write in his political autobiography that the experience was like nursing a stick of unstable dynamite. Later, he served as an advisor to Neil Kirton, who emerged as New Zealand First's leading dissident despite being an Associate Minister of Health, an association that irritated the National Party which had formed a coalition with New Zealand First. Eventually, New Zealand First leader Winston Peters sacked Kirton. Later, Laws worked in the public relations industry. He eventually became a broadcaster, working in both radio and television.
Wanganui shakeup
In 2004, Laws returned to politics, contesting and winning the mayoralty of Wanganui which has historically been a "sleepy hollow". He led a 'Vision Wanganui' team into those elections and they were successful in capturing the majority of council seats. He immediately opened finance figures to the public, introduced yearly referenda, announced management restructuring and lobbied successfully for a nil rate increase for the district. [link]. However, his mayoralty has also been controversial, with some citizens complaining about derogatory comments Laws made about Wanganui residents. An internal committee of investigation comprising mainly Laws' political allies found that Laws had not breached the council's code of conduct, but his administration remains controversial. He also upset the arts lobby in the district by canning plans for an extension to the renown Sarjeant Art Gallery and adopting more populist civic projects. However, his 'Vision Wanganui' team won two council by-elections held in February 2006.
Laws has written three books which have sold well. The first, The Demon Profession, released in August 1998, was a political memoir that Laws characterised as an inside view into the real workings of politics. The following year he released a novel entitled Dancing With Beelzebub. His third book, Gladiator - the Norm Hewitt story, was the No 1 bestseller over Christmas/New Year 2001 and has sold over 35,000 copies.
Laws also hosts a nation-wide morning talkback radio show on Radio Live, hosts his own rugby media show on SKY, and writes a weekly column for the Sunday Star-Times newspaper. He has also appeared on various 'celebrity' and 'reality TV' shows. His Sunday Star-Times column won him the Charles Southwell Prize in 2003.
Sources
External links
- [Official website]
- [Council website]
- [LawsWatch website]
- [link] Page 19, brief biography
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