George Negus cause of death after major health battle

Australian TV legend George Negus has died at the age of 82 due to complications surrounding Alzheimer’s disease. 

Negus, one of the original 60 Minutes reporters when the show launched in Australia in 1979, was diagnosed with dementia about five years ago. 

He had been living in an aged care facility in Sydney since late 2021. 

Negus’ family confirmed the television icon’s death on Tuesday afternoon.  

‘Despite the challenges diseases like Alzheimer’s inflict on families, we still shared beautiful times, laughter and happiness together in recent times,’ they said in a statement.

‘We also learnt a lot.’

Last month, his son Ned Negus said his father had been rendered non-verbal. 

‘For those of you who don’t know, my dad was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s around five years ago,’ he said.

‘He’s now non-verbal most of the time (mind-blowing for me but also any of you that know him).’ 

Negus was diagnosed with dementia about five years ago and since late 2021 has been living in a Sydney aged facility. He is pictured with 60 Minutes reporter Liz Hayes

Negus made his last notable public appearance at the November 2020 memorial service for television trailblazer Gerald Stone after the inaugural 60 Minutes executive producer died aged 87. 

Stone had chosen Negus, Ray Martin and Ian Leslie to front the news program in 1979 when Kerry Packer imported the format from the United States to air on his Nine Network. 

At its peak in the 1980s, 60 Minutes was a ratings juggernaut, with a third or more of the national television audience tuning in at 7.30 on a Sunday evening. 

Negus became a household name as he criss-crossed the globe, often reporting from war zones, with his thick moustache and open-neck shirts contributing to a knockabout image. 

From the late 1980s until his health deteriorated to the point he needed full-time care, Negus had lived on the New South Wales mid-north coast with his wife Kirsty Cockburn.

At its peak in the 1980s, 60 Minutes was a ratings juggernaut, with a third or more of the national television audience tuning in at 7.30 on a Sunday evening 

‘[Mum] is by his side most days helping him through, helping him remember (even the slightest thing) and feel,’ Ned Negus wrote. ‘Massive shout out to her too.’ 

Brisbane-born Negus was a high school teacher until his late 20s when he began writing for newspapers including The Australian, followed by a stint on the ABC’s groundbreaking This Day Tonight.

Negus served as press secretary to attorney-general Lionel Murphy during Gough Whitlam’s short-lived Labor government and was handpicked by Stone to help establish 60 Minutes.

He worked on the program until 1986, sharing reporting duties with Leslie, Martin, Jana Wendt and, near the end of his tenure, Jeff McMullen.

He presented George Negus Tonight, previously known as New Dimensions, on the national broadcaster from 2002 to 2004. 

The next year he began hosting Dateline on SBS before becoming a regular panellist on Ten’s The Project, followed by presenting 6.30 with George Negus on the same network.

Negus was made a Member of the Order of Australia in 2015 ‘for significant service to the media as a journalist and television presenter, and to conservation and the environment’.