Mathias Cormann (WA, Liberal Party, Vice-President of the Executive Council) Share this | Hansard source

by leave—I move:

That the Senate records its deep sorrow at the death on 9 February 2019 of Mr Bernard 'Barney' Cooney, a former senator for Victoria, places on record its gratitude for his long service to the parliament and the nation, and extends its sincere sympathies to the family in their bereavement.

Spanning 17 years, Barney Cooney's time in the Senate was marked by a decency and collegiality that earned him the respect of those on all sides of the Senate chamber. He was born on 11 July 1934 to Bernard, whose name he took, and Constance, or 'Corrie', Cooney on Tasmania's King Island into a family whose Irish heritage in Tasmania stretched back to the 1820s. However, much of his childhood was spent moving through towns dotted across regional Victoria—Culgoa, Gunbower and Yarck among them.

As the family of a bank branch manager, Barney's family was spared the full pain of the Great Depression, but in his youth he witnessed some of the social toll that it imposed on others. His formative years were spent watching impoverished itinerant men, many of them veterans of the First World War, visiting his home for help. His mother's generosity in giving them food and, where she could, the dignity of work had a profound and lasting impact on his social conscience. In time, Barney's family moved to the city and ran a milk bar in South Melbourne. Following his father's passing in 1951, Barney's mother continued to run the family business, with the help of her children, until her own passing in 1968.

Despite losing his father at a young age, Barney excelled at St Kevin's Christian Brothers college and secured a scholarship that saw him take up studies in arts and law at the University of Melbourne. While there, he fully engaged in university life: completing his national service, representing his campus as a boxer—another one; there's a theme here—and joining the university's ALP Club, later joining the St Kilda branch of the ALP. Barney refused to allow the sectarian tensions that had so riven his party through the 1950s and 1960s to colour his time within its ranks. He was well known for his dual commitment to the Labor cause and to his Catholic faith.

Once armed with his Bachelor of Law, Barney was admitted to the Victorian Bar in 1961. His work centred on the personal injury and industrial law spaces and spanned two decades prior to his election to parliament. Notably, his legal activities didn't end when he came to Canberra, and he remained on the bar roll throughout his time in this place. I should note that his legal career brought him more than just a livelihood, because in April 1962 he married Lillian Gill, a fellow lawyer, with whom he would have five children, one of whom they tragically lost in infancy.

On 1 December 1984, Barney was elected to represent the state of Victoria in the Senate, which was the beginning of 17 years in an office that he took very seriously indeed, and in a chamber whose role in checking and reviewing government he held in high regard. Indeed, his concerns about executive overreach, articulated passionately in his first speech, were a defining feature of his parliamentary service.

A Westminster traditionalist, nowhere did his belief in the Senate's crucial democratic function come through more strongly than in his approach to the Senate committee system. As a prolific committee contributor, he chaired seven Senate committees and participated in a formidable 25 parliamentary committees in total. Those roles gave him insight into a wide range of issues and topics, from animal welfare to telecommunications through to law and order and much more. Among the committees that he chaired were the Senate Standing Committee on Regulations and Ordinances and the Senate Standing Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs. However, in line with his convictions, some of Barney's most famous contributions were those that he made on the Scrutiny of Bills Committee, of which he was regarded by many to have been one of the most outstanding chairs ever.

His emphasis on liberty often stirred him to action, sometimes even against his own party, as was seen in his vigorous critique of the Hawke government's proposed national identity card legislation. Yet whatever the disagreements he may have had, Barney was widely known to be a man of geniality and good humour. Indeed, when one looks back through the commentary of his contemporaries, the high regard in which he was held comes through very clearly. Barney regularly spoke about the importance of civility in politics, and no-one could doubt that he met the high bar that he so regularly set. It is a tribute to his character that, at the time of his retirement, so many senators lined up across partisan lines to farewell their departing friend. My good friend and former Liberal senator for South Australia Alan Ferguson captured the sentiment very well:

Everybody knows Senator Cooney because he is the most gracious man who greets every new member and makes them feel so much at home.

In his own valedictory speech, Barney displayed that same grace. Rather than focus on himself, he turned the chamber's attention to the work of his staff, friends and colleagues. So plentiful was his list of thank yous that to be safe he conceded that the only way to ensure that he wouldn't miss anyone was to table the entire phone book.

Though he retired from the parliament in 2002, Barney's passion for life and politics was undimmed. In 2003 he was named patron of the Conciliation Assistants Representing Employees Group, and in 2005 he was appointed chair of the advisory group to the Elder Abuse Prevention Project established by the Victorian government.

As he battled ill-health in his later life, he kept busy. Indeed, he was politically involved to the very end and attended meetings just last month. I commend in particular his deep commitment to community service, which saw him provide pro bono legal support even in retirement. With his lengthy service to the community now having come to an end, Barney leaves behind his loving wife, Lillian, their four children and their grandchildren. As they mourn the loss of their husband and father, the Senate mourns the loss of a kind, decent and committed public servant. On behalf of the Australian government and the Australian Senate, I extend to Barney's loved ones our sincerest condolences.