Greg Cornwell was a writer, politician and campaigner for self government. Photo: Vivid Publishing.
Former Liberal MLA and speaker of the Legislative Assembly Greg Cornwell has died at the age of 87.
A staunch conservative, Mr Cornwall was a devoted servant of Canberra and following his political career, worked with many community organisations alongside his wife, Margaret.
He also wrote a series of crime novels, Order in the House, featuring a Legislative Assembly backbencher called John Order whose penchant for stumbling over dead bodies, both in Canberra and on the South Coast (including Murder at Merimbula, dealing with sun, sand, surf and strangulation), placed him somewhat at odds with the more mundane reality of life in the Assembly.
Greg Cornwell was born in Sydney and began his career in shipping and public relations before moving to Canberra in 1966, where his wife Margaret had spent her youth.
He joined the Liberal Party shortly afterwards and was an active member from the mid 1970’s until ill health intervened in recent years.
Mr Cornwell was first elected to the ACT Legislative Assembly as a member for Molonglo in 1992 and held his seat until 2004, when he retired.
He was the Assembly’s Speaker between 1995 and 2001 and had previously represented the seat of Fraser in the ACT House of Assembly, the advisory body precursor to self government.
As Speaker in the Carnell and Humphries governments, he was committed to an orderly and well run House. He was also a deeply committed representative who beloved it was his duty to actively represent all of his constituents. In 2008 he was made a member of the Order of Australia in recognition of his service to the Assembly and the Canberra community.
A classic conservative, Mr Cornwell lamented the level of control exercised by government in the ACT, advocating for personal responsibility and criticising multiculturalism and other progressive causes as elitist and socially divisive.
He opposed some of the Carnell government’s attempt at a social reform including a heroin trial in Canberra, but was recognised as a dedicated and long-standing worker for the Canberra Liberals and a stalwart of the Party organisation.
He was also a fierce advocate for self government and heavily involved with the parliamentary committees and processes leading to its establishment in 1989.
Mr Cornwell was a founding member of both the Movement for Home Rule and the ACT Self-government Campaign Committee and his papers on the period are held by the ACT Heritage Library Manuscript Collection.
On his retirement at the abolition of the House of Assembly in 1986, he received the thanks of both Houses of the Commonwealth Parliament, the ACT House of Assembly, and the Liberal Party, for his contributions.
In retirement, Mr Cornwell continued to write and advocate widely on topics from travel to politics. His factional novella, Shangri-la focused on the risks of global over-population. Later in life he also became an advocate for dying with dignity.
The Order series of nine novellas was self published, attracting a committed following for the backbencher detective who solved crime from his office, and, occasionally, meetings of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association. Blondes, bodies and greedy property developers abounded.
Mr Cornwell is survived by his wife Margaret, with whom he shared many interests including the Old Parliament House Rose Gardens and Canberra Girls Grammar, and stepdaughters Jane and Megan.
A memorial service for Mr Cornwell will be held at St Paul’s Anglican Church in Griffith at 2 pm on Thursday, July 3.
