The Man With the Golden Microphone Put in His Place
Gary Burns is a Sydney resident who lodged a complaint following derogatory remarks made by John Laws and Steve Price on 2UE, concerning the presence of a homosexual couple, on tv program The Block. Burns alleged that the comments incited hatred, serious contempt and severe ridicule of homosexuals on the grounds of their homosexuality, and the Administrative Decisions Tribunal (ADT) found in favour of Gary Burns this morning. This decision was an important demonstration of the power of the Anti-Discrimination act and will no doubt put Laws on guard, particularly following his more recent gaffes during the Australian visit of “Queer Eye For The Straight Guy”’s Carson Kressley. While Laws did issue a public apology for those comments, this decision, plus the possibility that the Commercial Radio Codes of Practice were also breached, suggest that Laws could be up for more court appearances. Ella O’Keefe spoke to Alexis Goodstone, from the Public Interest Advocacy Centre, who represented Burns before the tribunal, about the background of the complaints lodged against John Laws, Steve Price and radio 2UE.