He was a wonderful human being and his loss will be deeply felt, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said in a statement posted on social media on Tuesday.
"His courage, curiosity and integrity gave millions of Australians a sense of the big issues on 60 Minutes, and a window to the world through Foreign Correspondent," he said.
View this post on Instagram A post shared by Anthony Albanese (@albomp)
"George sought and served the truth with steely determination and a twinkle in his eye, and along the way, he made even the smallest TV screen feel that much bigger."
Mr Albanese offered the heartfelt condolences of the nation to Mr Negus' family.
The groundbreaking correspondent was a household name in Australia, known for his moustache, a twinkle in his eye, and direct interviewing style.
He was the first host of Foreign Correspondent on the ABC and one of the founding members of the 60 Minutes reporting team on the Nine Network.
"We will always treasure the stories and memories he gave us all," 60 Minutes posted on social media.
Another of the founding 60 minutes trio alongside Ray Martin, Ian Leslie said his former colleague and friend was like losing one in a family.
"I have always taken the view that it was George's wit and outgoing character that earned 60 minutes its early success," he said in an obituary published in the Nine papers.
Negus with 60 Minutes hosts (L-R) Liam Bartlett, Liz Hayes, Charles Wooley and Ray Martin in 2018. (Dan Peled/AAP PHOTOS)
George Negus once famously veered off-script during an interview to ask Margaret Thatcher why people regarded her as "pig-headed".
But in an exchange still taught in journalism schools, the Iron Lady wanted to know who precisely had said this, and when.
That interview was the only time fellow journalist Derryn Hinch said he had ever seen George Negus nonplussed.
The pair were friends for decades, but the world of television journalism pitched them as rivals at various times.
"I thought that George Negus was one of the greatest television journalists Australia has ever seen, and George would agree with me," Hinch told radio station 3AW.
"Lovely bloke. Larrikin. TV pioneer. Strong and fearless journalist," journalist Peter FitzSimons said on social media.
Negus travelled the world reporting from war zones, and was awarded an Order of Australia in 2015.
The Negus family have asked for privacy but asked people to remember him by kicking a footy, or eating a hearty bowl of pasta.
His family revealed in 2021 that Negus had been diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease.
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