Barney Cooney

Barney Cooney
Barney Cooney
Victoria
	In office; 1 December 1984 – 30 June 2002
Personal details
Born	11 July 1934; Currie, Tasmania
Died	9 February 2019 (aged 84); Melbourne, Victoria
Nationality	Australian
Political party	Australian Labor Party
Alma mater	University of Melbourne
Occupation	Barrister

Bernard Cornelius Cooney (11 July 1934 – 9 February 2019)^[1] was an Australian politician.

Cooney was born at

South Melbourne. He was educated at the Cohuna and Alexandra high schools and at St Kevin's College in Melbourne, before studying law at the University of Melbourne.^[2]

Cooney undertook his articled clerkship with Melbourne firm Alexander Grant Dickson and King, and was admitted to the bar in 1961. He practised largely in personal injury and industrial law.^[2]

In 1984, he was elected to the

Victoria. He served on a wide range of parliamentary committees and chaired several, including the Scrutiny of Bills Committee. He argued strongly in favour of civil liberties throughout his time in parliament, strongly opposing the Australia Card, restrictions on the legal rights of asylum seekers and anti-terror laws he viewed as "draconian". He stated that he "never contemplated the ministry", but "used to oppose things in caucus a lot". He held his Senate seat until his retirement in 2002.^[2]^[3]^[4]

Cooney continued to practise as a barrister throughout and after his parliamentary career. He died in February 2019 after a long illness.[1]