Wanganui mayoral candidate Jevan Goulter is categorically denying he approached the five-year-old daughter of broadcaster and current Mayor Michael Laws as she left school, in an attempt to serve legal papers on her. There has been increasing tension between the sitting mayor and increasingly contentious gay candidate since it was revealed Goulter leaked correspondence between Laws and a woman he had a relationship with to the media. That boiled over into an altercation at the Wanganui Radio Live studios this morning, as Goulter attempted to serve Laws with papers, as he is suing the mayor for defamation, seeking $100,000 in costs. What Michael Laws says: Michael Laws Laws spoke furiously about the incidents on his Radio Live show this morning saying, "I have never been as angry as I have this morning. I have been approached at this radio studio this morning, by an unemployed homosexual fantasist by the name of Hamish Jevan … Goulter," he said. "A candidate for the Wanganui City Council and mayoralty and a person who has been widely discredited in most of the media of this country as being a objectionable, anti-social fantasist who makes claims that are simply untrue and has an unfortunate and frankly, yes, sad past." Laws went on to describe how papers for defamation were served on him this morning "because this man is so deluded he believes I said things publicly about him which I did not." The mayor and radio host says there was an altercation because on Friday afternoon when his five-year-old daughter Lucy was leaving school Goulter attempted to serve papers on her, distressing his ex-partner by coming between her and the girl. "He's now turned up at nine o'clock this morning and thrown, literally thrown, papers at me. And I have manhandled him away from the studio, or attempted to manhandle him away from the studio after he threw those papers at me." Laws has appealed for Goulter to leave his children out of it, claiming they were used for a political stunt. Listen to the audio of what Laws said here Jevan Goulter Jevan Goulter's response: Goulter denies he went to the school to serve papers on Laws' daughter, saying he was simply picking up a student who lives in the same house as he does – a student he says he picks up every day. He told GayNZ.com this evening that he does not know what Laws' daughter looks like. The 21-year-old says he had earlier tried to serve the papers to Laws' ex-partner at work and she was not there. He says he still had the documents in his pocket when he went to the school and when he saw the woman he tried to give them to her. "She abused me, she got her daughter, she walked out and when she walked past us she abused me some more." Goulter has laid an assault complaint over the altercation at the Radio Live studios this morning. "He calls it manhandled, the police have called it assault." The candidate says he went in and asked for Laws, and when the host saw him he shouted "fuck off you fucking homo" and slammed the door, as Goulter threw the papers through. He says court staff told him if Laws would not physically take the papers he should throw them at him. "As that happened, he flung the door open and ran out in an absolute wild rage and, I'm not embellishing the situation, he flew out and just pushed me straight away – a good push, you know? He pushed me, grabbed me, and pushed me back to the reception desk." Goulter says he has photos showing Laws pushed him up against the desk, "where he continued saying 'I'm going to fucking smack your head in, I'm gonna fucking smack you over'. I'm not going to lie; he's not a very intimidating man. I wasn't overly bothered by any of this." The 21-year-old does not believe he has gone too far. He says Laws has embellished the incident at the school. "I would never approach a five-year-old child and try and hand them something. I haven't gone too far. That's been blown out of proportion." Arrangements have been made by the school for Goulter and Laws' ex-partner to pick up their respective wards at different times. Goulter is unsure what impact the storm of publicity hanging around him will have on his campaign, saying he will find out on election day. However he claims since he announced his defamation case against Laws he has had around 65 phone calls of support from residents. He hosted afternoon tea at Grey Power today and says at the end of his speech people were clapping and cheering him on. "The great thing about the publicity that I have had is that I came here with people not knowing who I am. They know who I am now." Goulter says he wants to be noticed more for the positive things he is doing and get past "the tabloid stuff". When asked by GayNZ.com, "people think you've lost the plot, have you lost the plot?" he replied, "not at all." He said later, "I haven't lost the plot at all. I think Michael's lost the plot … If this is the truth and Mr Laws is that angry about it – angry enough to talk on live radio about it – then why haven't the police come to see me yet? Why hasn't the principal taken any action and why haven't the police taken any action? I'll tell you why – because it never happened." Goulter finished the conversation by adding that he finds it ironic that many people in the gay community do not like Laws, yet they are backing the mayor and radio host in this case. "I don't want them to support me either, but the fact that these people are right behind him is kind of hypocritical to me. If I were to lean around a door and say 'fuck off you fucking homo', the gay community would pack a big stink about it because I'm discriminating against them. But for some reason when Michael Laws manages to say all these things it just goes over everybody's bloody head."
Credit: GayNZ.com Daily News staff
First published: Wednesday, 25th August 2010 - 7:40pm