List of Australian Leaders of the Opposition facts for kids

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).

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.

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'.

The current Leader of the Opposition is not yet decided. It will be a member of the Labor Party, which lost the federal election to the Liberal Party in September 2013. The leader of the Labor Party will be decided by a vote in the caucus, and will be between Anthony Albanese and Bill Shorten. As of 2013, there have been 32 Opposition Leaders. Of these, 18 have served terms as Prime Minister.

Leaders of the Opposition

Leader		Division	Took Office	Left Office
George Reid	Free Trade Party	East Sydney (NSW)	19 May 1901	17 August 1904	Barton 1901–03
					Deakin 1903–04
					Watson 1904
Chris Watson	Labour Party	Bland (NSW)	18 August 1904	5 July 1905	George Reid 1904–05
George Reid	Free Trade Party	East Sydney (NSW)	7 July 1905	16 November 1908	Deakin 1905–08
	Anti-Socialist Party				Deakin 1905–08
	Anti-Socialist Party				Fisher 1908–09
Joseph Cook	Anti-Socialist Party	Parramatta (NSW)	17 November 1908	26 May 1909
Alfred Deakin	Commonwealth Liberal Party	Ballarat (Vic)	26 May 1909	2 June 1909
Andrew Fisher	Labour Party	Wide Bay (Qld)	2 June 1909	29 April 1910	Deakin 1909
Alfred Deakin	Commonwealth Liberal Party	Ballarat (Vic)	1 July 1910	20 January 1913	Fisher 1910–13
Joseph Cook	Commonwealth Liberal Party	Parramatta (NSW)	20 January 1913	24 June 1913	Fisher 1910–13
Andrew Fisher	Labor Party	Wide Bay (Qld)	8 July 1913	17 September 1914	Cook 1913–14
Joseph Cook	Commonwealth Liberal Party	Parramatta (NSW)	8 October 1914	17 February 1916	Fisher 1914–15
Joseph Cook	Commonwealth Liberal Party	Parramatta (NSW)	8 October 1914	17 February 1916	Hughes 1915–23
Frank Tudor	Labor Party	Yarra (Vic)	1 November 1916	10 January 1922
Frank Tudor	Labor Party	Yarra (Vic)	1 November 1916	10 January 1922
Matthew Charlton	Labor Party	Hunter (NSW)	10 January 1922	29 March 1928
Matthew Charlton	Labor Party	Hunter (NSW)	10 January 1922	29 March 1928	Bruce 1923–29
James Scullin	Labor Party	Yarra (Vic)	29 March 1928	22 October 1929	Bruce 1923–29
John Latham	Nationalist Party	Kooyong (Vic)	20 November 1929	7 May 1931	Scullin 1929–32
Joseph Lyons	United Australia Party	Wilmot (Tas)	7 May 1931	6 January 1932	Scullin 1929–32
James Scullin	Labor Party	Yarra (Vic)	7 January 1932	1 October 1935	Lyons 1932–39
John Curtin	Labor Party	Fremantle (WA)	1 October 1935	7 October 1941	Lyons 1932–39
					Page 1939
					Menzies 1939–41
					Fadden 1941
Arthur Fadden	Country Party	Darling Downs (Qld)	7 October 1941	23 September 1943	Curtin 1941–45
Robert Menzies	United Australia Party	Kooyong (Vic)	23 September 1943	19 December 1949	Curtin 1941–45
	Liberal Party				Forde 1945
	Liberal Party				Chifley 1945–49
Ben Chifley	Labor Party	Macquarie (NSW)	19 December 1949	20 June 1951	Menzies 1949–66
Herbert Evatt	Labor Party	Barton (NSW) 1940–58 Hunter (NSW) 1958–60	20 June 1951	9 February 1960
Arthur Calwell	Labor Party	Melbourne (Vic)	7 March 1960	8 February 1967
Arthur Calwell	Labor Party	Melbourne (Vic)	7 March 1960	8 February 1967	Holt 1966–67
Gough Whitlam	Labor Party	Werriwa (NSW)	8 February 1967	2 December 1972	Holt 1966–67
					McEwen 1967–68
					Gorton 1968–71
					McMahon 1971–72
Billy Snedden	Liberal Party	Bruce (Vic)	2 December 1972	21 March 1975	Whitlam 1972–75
Malcolm Fraser	Liberal Party	Wannon (Vic)	21 March 1975	11 November 1975	Whitlam 1972–75
Gough Whitlam	Labor Party	Werriwa (NSW)	11 November 1975	22 December 1977	Fraser 1975–83
Bill Hayden	Labor Party	Oxley (Qld)	22 December 1977	3 February 1983
Bob Hawke	Labor Party	Wills (Vic)	3 February 1983	11 March 1983
Andrew Peacock	Liberal Party	Kooyong (Vic)	11 March 1983	5 September 1985	Hawke 1983–91
John Howard	Liberal Party	Bennelong (NSW)	5 September 1985	9 May 1989
Andrew Peacock	Liberal Party	Kooyong (Vic)	9 May 1989	3 April 1990
John Hewson	Liberal Party	Wentworth (NSW)	3 April 1990	23 May 1994
John Hewson	Liberal Party	Wentworth (NSW)	3 April 1990	23 May 1994	Keating 1991–96
Alexander Downer	Liberal Party	Mayo (SA)	23 May 1994	30 January 1995
John Howard	Liberal Party	Bennelong (NSW)	30 January 1995	11 March 1996
Kim Beazley	Labor Party	Brand (WA)	19 March 1996	11 November 2001	Howard 1996–2007
Simon Crean	Labor Party	Hotham (Vic)	11 November 2001	2 December 2003
Mark Latham	Labor Party	Werriwa (NSW)	2 December 2003	18 January 2005
Kim Beazley	Labor Party	Brand (WA)	28 January 2005	4 December 2006
Kevin Rudd	Labor Party	Griffith (Qld)	4 December 2006	3 December 2007
Brendan Nelson	Liberal Party	Bradfield (NSW)	3 December 2007	16 September 2008	Rudd 2007–2010
Malcolm Turnbull	Liberal Party	Wentworth (NSW)	16 September 2008	1 December 2009
Tony Abbott	Liberal Party	Warringah (NSW)	1 December 2009	16 September 2013
					Gillard 2010—2013
					Rudd 2013
Bill Shorten	Labor Party	Maribyrnong (VIC)	16 September 2013	Incumbent	Abbott 2013—present

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