KidzSearch Wiki

List of Australian Leaders of the Opposition

(Redirected from Leader of the Opposition (Australia))

In Australian Federal Politics the Leader of the Opposition is a Member of Parliament in the House of Representatives. The Leader of the Opposition is usually the leader of the party which has the most seats but is not part of the Government. In Parliament the Leader of the Opposition sits on the left-hand side of the table in the centre, in front of the Opposition and opposite the Prime Minister. The Opposition Leader is elected by the Opposition Party. A new Opposition Leader may be elected if the person in the position dies, resigns or is challenged for the leadership.

Leader of the Opposition of the Commonwealth of Australia
Opposition of Australia
Shadow Cabinet of Australia
Member of
Reports toParliament
Term lengthWhile leader of the largest political party in the House of Representatives that is not in government
Inaugural holderGeorge Reid
Formation1901
Salary$390,000
File:Australian House of Representatives - Parliament of Australia.jpg
In the Australian House of Representatives, the Leader of the Opposition sits at the front table to the left of the Speaker's Chair (on the right-hand side in this photo).

The Commonwealth of Australia is a constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary system. It is based on the British Westminster model. The term Opposition has a specific meaning in the parliamentary system. Its formal title is Her Majesty's Loyal Opposition. This is an important part of the Westminster system. The Opposition directs its criticism at the Government and attempts to defeat and replace the Government. The Opposition is therefore the 'Government in waiting' and it is a formal part of the parliamentary system, just as is the Government. It is in opposition to the Government, but not to the Crown, hence the term 'Loyal Opposition'.[1]

The current Leader of the Opposition is Sussan Ley since 13 May 2025, following the Liberal Party's defeat in the 2025 federal election.

List of leaders of the opposition

No. Leader Party Constituency Took office Left office Prime Minister Ref
1 George Reid [a] 60px   Free Trade East Sydney (NSW) 19 May 1901 17 August 1904   Barton 1901–03 [2]
Deakin 1903–04
  Watson 1904
2 Chris Watson [b] 60px   Labor Bland (NSW) 18 August 1904 5 July 1905   Reid 1904–05
(1) George Reid [b] 60px   Free Trade / Anti-Socialist East Sydney (NSW) 7 July 1905 16 November 1908   Deakin 1905–08
  Fisher 1908–09
3 Joseph Cook [a] Joseph Cook - Broothorn Studios.jpg Anti-Socialist Parramatta (NSW) 17 November 1908 26 May 1909
4 Alfred Deakin [a][b] 60px   Liberal Ballaarat (Vic) 26 May 1909 2 June 1909
5 Andrew Fisher [a][b] 60px   Labor Wide Bay (Qld) 2 June 1909 29 April 1910   Deakin 1909
(4) Alfred Deakin [b] 60px   Liberal Ballaarat (Vic) 1 July 1910 20 January 1913   Fisher 1910–13
(3) Joseph Cook [a] 60px Parramatta (NSW) 20 January 1913 24 June 1913
(5) Andrew Fisher [a] [b] 60px   Labor Wide Bay (Qld) 8 July 1913 17 September 1914   Cook 1913–14
(3) Joseph Cook [b] 60px   Liberal Parramatta (NSW) 8 October 1914 17 February 1917   Fisher 1914–15
  Hughes 1915–23
 
6 Frank Tudor 60px   Labor Yarra (Vic) 17 February 1917 10 January 1922  
7 Matthew Charlton 60px Hunter (NSW) 25 January 1922 29 March 1928  
  Bruce 1923–29
8 James Scullin [a] 60px Yarra (Vic) 29 March 1928 22 October 1929  
9 John Latham 60px   Nationalist Kooyong (Vic) 20 November 1929 7 May 1931   Scullin 1929–32
10 Joseph Lyons [a] 60px   United Australia Wilmot (Tas) 7 May 1931 6 January 1932
(8) James Scullin [b] 60px   Labor Yarra (Vic) 6 January 1932 1 October 1935   Lyons 1932–39
11 John Curtin [a] 60px Fremantle (WA) 1 October 1935 7 October 1941  
  Page 1939
  Menzies 1939–41
  Fadden 1941
12 Arthur Fadden [b] 60px   Country Darling Downs (Qld) 7 October 1941 23 September 1943   Curtin 1941–45
13 Robert Menzies [a][b] File:Portrait Menzies 1950s.jpg   United Australia Kooyong (Vic) 23 September 1943 19 December 1949
  Liberal   Forde 1945
  Chifley 1945–49
14 Ben Chifley [b] 60px   Labor Macquarie (NSW) 19 December 1949 13 June 1951   Menzies 1949–66
15 H. V. Evatt 60px Barton (NSW) 1940–58
Hunter (NSW) 1958–60 		20 June 1951 9 February 1960  
16 Arthur Calwell 60px Melbourne (Vic) 7 March 1960 8 February 1967  
  Holt 1966–67
17 Gough Whitlam [a] 60px Werriwa (NSW) 8 February 1967 2 December 1972  
  McEwen 1967–68
  Gorton 1968–71
  McMahon 1971–72
18 Billy Snedden 60px   Liberal Bruce (Vic) 20 December 1972 21 March 1975   Whitlam 1972–75
19 Malcolm Fraser [a] Fraser Malcolm BANNER.jpg Wannon (Vic) 21 March 1975 11 November 1975
(17) Gough Whitlam [c] File:Gough Whitlam headshot.jpg   Labor Werriwa (NSW) 11 November 1975 22 December 1977   Fraser 1975–83
20 Bill Hayden File:Bill Hayden 1974 (cropped).jpg Oxley (Qld) 22 December 1977 8 February 1983
21 Bob Hawke [a] Hawke Bob BANNER.jpg Wills (Vic) 8 February 1983 11 March 1983
22 Andrew Peacock Andrew Peacock 1974 (cropped).jpg   Liberal Kooyong (Vic) 11 March 1983 5 September 1985   Hawke 1983–91
23 John Howard [a] John Howard 1974 (cropped).jpg Bennelong (NSW) 5 September 1985 9 May 1989 [4]
(22) Andrew Peacock Andrew Peacock 1974 (cropped).jpg Kooyong (Vic) 9 May 1989 3 April 1990   [2]
24 John Hewson File:John Hewson 2016 01.jpg Wentworth (NSW) 3 April 1990 23 May 1994  
  Keating 1991–96
25 Alexander Downer 60px Mayo (SA) 23 May 1994 30 January 1995 [5]
(23) John Howard [a] 60px Bennelong (NSW) 30 January 1995 11 March 1996 [4]
26 Kim Beazley 60px   Labor Brand (WA) 19 March 1996 22 November 2001   Howard 1996–07 [6]
27 Simon Crean 60px Hotham (Vic) 22 November 2001 2 December 2003 [7]
28 Mark Latham 60px Werriwa (NSW) 2 December 2003 18 January 2005 [8]
(26) Kim Beazley 60px Brand (WA) 28 January 2005 4 December 2006 [6]
29 Kevin Rudd [a] Kevin Rudd official portrait.jpg Griffith (Qld) 4 December 2006 3 December 2007 [9]
30 Brendan Nelson 60px   Liberal Bradfield (NSW) 3 December 2007 16 September 2008   Rudd 2007–10 [10]
31 Malcolm Turnbull [a] 60px Wentworth (NSW) 16 September 2008 1 December 2009   [11]
32 Tony Abbott [a] 60px Warringah (NSW) 1 December 2009 18 September 2013   [12]
  Gillard 2010–13
  Rudd 2013
33 Bill Shorten File:Bill Shorten-crop.jpg   Labor Maribyrnong (Vic) 13 October 2013 30 May 2019   Abbott 2013–15 [13]
Turnbull 2015–18 [14]
Morrison 2018–22 [15]
34 Anthony Albanese [a] 60px Grayndler (NSW) 30 May 2019 23 May 2022
35 Peter Dutton File:Peter Dutton May 2018 (cropped).jpg   Liberal Dickson (Qld) 30 May 2022 3 May 2025   Albanese 2022–
36 Sussan Ley 60px Farrer (NSW) 13 May 2025 Incumbent  

List Of Australian Leaders Of The Opposition Media

  • Billy Snedden and Andrew Peacock in 1973 (1).jpg

    Billy Snedden and Andrew Peacock on 12 October 1973. Both served as Opposition Leader, but never became Prime Minister.

Related pages

Notes

  1. ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 1.14 1.15 1.16 1.17 1.18 Opposition Leader who later became Prime Minister.
  2. ↑ 2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 Opposition Leader who had previously been Prime Minister.
  3. ↑ Gough Whitlam refused to use the title Leader of the Opposition between the dismissal of his government in November 1975 and the first meeting of the new parliament in February 1976. During the election campaign in December 1975 he styled himself as the Leader of the Majority in the House of Representatives.[3]

References

  1. ↑ Jaensch, Dean (1997). The Politics of Australia. Melbourne: MacMillan Education Australia. pp. 100. ISBN 0-7329-4128-8.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Appendix 4: Leaders of the Opposition". House of Representatives Practice. May 2018. pp. 805–806. Archived from the original on 7 November 2021. Retrieved 2021-11-07.
  3. ↑ Gough, Whitlam. "Whitlam Speeches – 1975 Election Policy Speech". Whitlam Dismissal. Archived from the original on 2006-11-16. Retrieved 2006-04-12.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Template:Cite Au Parliament
  5. ↑ Template:Cite Au Parliament
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Template:Cite Au Parliament
  7. ↑ Template:Cite Au Parliament
  8. ↑ Template:Cite Au Parliament
  9. ↑ Template:Cite Au Parliament
  10. ↑ Template:Cite Au Parliament
  11. ↑ Template:Cite Au Parliament
  12. ↑ Template:Cite Au Parliament
  13. ↑ Template:Cite Au Parliament
  14. ↑ Template:Cite Au Parliament
  15. ↑ Template:Cite Au Parliament
Retrieved from "https://wiki.kidzsearch.com/w/index.php?title=List_of_Australian_Leaders_of_the_Opposition&oldid=5811266"