
List of Australian Leaders of the Opposition facts for kids

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 | Portrait | Party | Division | Took Office | Left Office | Prime Minister | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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 | ||||||||
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 | |||
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 | ||
Hughes 1915–23 | ||||||||
Frank Tudor | ![]() |
Labor Party | Yarra (Vic) | 1 November 1916 | 10 January 1922 | |||
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 | |||
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 | |||
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 | |||
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 | |||
Liberal Party | Forde 1945 | |||||||
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 | |||
Holt 1966–67 | ||||||||
Gough Whitlam | ![]() |
Labor Party | Werriwa (NSW) | 8 February 1967 | 2 December 1972 | |||
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 | |||
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 | |||
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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