‘Offensive, callous’: Neil Mitchell takes aim at John-Michael Howson

Neil Mitchell has taken aim at a 3AW colleague for “going too far” and “demeaning the station”.

John-Michael Howson on Sunday issued an on-air apology after making comments in which he suggested anti-coal campaigners ought to self-harm, including jumping in front of a tram.

“I need to address this,” Neil Mitchell said.

Click PLAY for Neil Mitchell’s full comments this morning

“John-Michael Howson has become fairly infamous for his strong views on the Sunday Morning program, where he and Nick McCallum regularly have fiery clashes. But on Sunday he went too far.

“He was offensive, he was callous, he was nasty, he was stupid.

“No matter how heated an argument might get or how strong a view might be, you never should tell people to kill themselves.”

Statement from 3AW management
John-Michael Howson did retract his comments and issue an apology on-air on Sunday.
Management are meeting with the program tomorrow with regard to the broadcasting codes and on-going content.

Leading psychologist Michael Carr-Gregg called on 3AW management to consider suspending John-Michael.

“There should be some action by the station to make sure the message gets through,” he said.

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