Leader of the Opposition (Australia)

The Leader of the Opposition is a politician who leads the opposition in Australia. The Leader of the Opposition in Australian federal politics by convention, is a Member of Parliament in the House of Representatives. The position is held by the leader of the party not in government that has the most seats in the House. When in parliament, the Leader of the Opposition sits on the left-hand side of the centre table, in front of the Opposition and opposite the Prime Minister. The Opposition Leader is elected by his or her party according to its rules. A new Opposition Leader may be elected when the incumbent dies, resigns, or is challenged for the leadership.

Leader of the Opposition of the Commonwealth of Australia
Incumbent Anthony Albanese since 30 May 2019
Opposition of Australia Shadow Cabinet of Australia
Member of	Shadow Cabinet
Reports to	Parliament
Term length	While leader of the largest political party not in government
Inaugural holder	George Reid
Formation	1901
Salary	$390,000
Website	anthonyalbanese.com.au

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

To date there have been 34 Opposition Leaders, 18 of whom have served terms as Prime Minister.[2] The current Leader of the Opposition is Anthony Albanese of the Australian Labor Party, following an election of the new Parliamentary Labor Leader by caucus and ALP members on 30 May 2019. The current Deputy Leader of the Opposition is Richard Marles, who was elected deputy leader of the ALP on the same date.

Role

The opposition leader is the opposition's counterpart to the prime minister. He or she is expected to be ready to form a new government if the incumbent government is unable to continue in office. This typically occurs when the opposition wins a federal election, after which the opposition leader is appointed prime minister. However, the opposition leader may also be called upon to form government if the incumbent government loses the confidence of the House (most recently in 1941) or that of the governor-general (most recently in 1975).[3]

The opposition leader is the head of the shadow ministry, allocating portfolios and, in the case of the Coalition, determining its membership. He or she is assisted by a deputy leader of the opposition, who is also recognised in the standing orders and entitled to an additional salary. Both the opposition leader and deputy opposition leader are entitled to a degree of special preference from the Speaker of the House.[3]

The position of opposition leader has no constitutional basis but exists as a matter of convention in the Westminster system. A 1960 inquiry into parliamentary salaries and allowances observed:[3]

The Leader of the Opposition has to make himself master of all the business which comes before the House (not merely that of one or two departments); he has to do this at times at short notice and under constant pressure; and he gets no help from permanent officials. At all times he is the spokesman for those who are critical of or opposed to the Government, and he must be unceasingly vigilant and active. He and the Prime Minister should be the most powerful agents in guiding and forming public opinion on issues of policy.

History

George Reid became the de facto leader of the opposition in the lead-up to the inaugural 1901 federal election, following the appointment of Edmund Barton to lead a caretaker government as Australia's first prime minister. His status was confirmed when the House of Representatives met for the first time after the election. The opposition leader was initially not entitled to any salary or entitlements beyond those of an ordinary member of parliament. As a result, Reid had to maintain his legal practice in Sydney to support himself and was able to attend just over one-third of the sitting days in the first session of parliament.[4]

Although the role was firmly established, the House did not formally recognise the position of opposition leader in its records until 1920.[3] It was recognised by statute for the first time with the passage of the Parliamentary Allowances Act 1920, which granted its holder an additional allowance.[4] Prime Minister Andrew Fisher had previously offered Opposition Leader Alfred Deakin an allowance in 1910. Deakin declined, but did accept a paid secretary.[5] In 1931, the office was incorporated into the House's standing orders for the first time, with the opposition leader granted the right to exceed the time limit for speeches in certain instances.[3]

Salary

The opposition leader's salary is determined by the Remuneration Tribunal, an independent statutory body.[6] As of 1 July 2019, the incumbent is entitled to a parliamentarian's base salary of A$211,250 plus an additional 85% loading, equating to a salary of around $390,000.[7]

List of Leaders of the Opposition

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

List of Deputy Leaders of the Opposition

Leader		Party		Constituency	Took office	Left office	Leader
Joseph Cook			Commonwealth Liberal Party	Parramatta (NSW)	26 May 1909	2 June 1909		Deakin 1909
Gregor McGregor			Labor Party	Senator for South Australia (SA)	2 June 1909	29 April 1910		Fisher 1909–10
Joseph Cook			Commonwealth Liberal Party	Parramatta (NSW)	1 July 1910	20 January 1913		Deakin 1910–13
Sir John Forrest			Commonwealth Liberal Party	Swan (WA)	20 January 1913	24 June 1913		Cook 1913
Gregor McGregor			Labor Party	Senator for South Australia (SA)	8 July 1913	7 September 1914		Fisher 1913–14
Sir John Forrest			Commonwealth Liberal Party	Swan (WA)	8 October 1914	17 February 1917		Cook 1914–17
Albert Gardiner			Labor Party	Senator for New South Wales (NSW)	17 February 1917	March 1927		Tudor 1917–22
								Charlton 1922–28
James Scullin			Labor Party	Yarra (Vic)	17 March 1927[9]	29 March 1928
Arthur Blakeley			Labor Party	Darling (NSW)	29 March 1928	1929		Scullin 1928–29
Ted Theodore			Labor Party	Dalley (NSW)	1929	22 October 1929
Henry Gullett			Nationalist Party	Henty (Vic)	20 November 1929	7 May 1931		Latham 1929–31
John Latham			United Australia Party	Kooyong (Vic)	7 May 1931	6 January 1932		Lyons 1931–32
Frank Forde			Labor Party	Capricornia (Qld)	7 January 1932	7 October 1941		Scullin 1932–35
								Curtin 1935–41
Billy Hughes			United Australia Party	North Sydney (NSW)	9 October 1941	14 April 1944		Fadden 1941–43
								Menzies 1943–49
Eric Harrison			United Australia Party	Wentworth (NSW)	14 April 1944	19 December 1949
			Liberal Party
H. V. Evatt			Labor Party	Barton (NSW)	19 December 1949	13 June 1951		Chifley 1949–51
Arthur Calwell			Labor Party	Melbourne (Vic)	13 June 1951	9 February 1960		Evatt 1960–67
Gough Whitlam			Labor Party	Werriwa (NSW)	7 March 1960	8 February 1967		Calwell 1960–67
Lance Barnard			Labor Party	Bass (Tas)	9 February 1967	5 December 1972		Whitlam 1967–72
Phillip Lynch			Liberal Party	Flinders (Vic)	20 December 1972	11 November 1975		Snedden 1972–75
								Fraser 1975
Frank Crean			Labor Party	Melbourne Ports (Vic)	11 November 1975	22 December 1975		Whitlam 1975–77
Tom Uren			Labor Party	Reid (NSW)	22 December 1975	22 December 1977
Lionel Bowen			Labor Party	Kingsford Smith (NSW)	22 December 1977	11 March 1983		Hayden 1977–83
								Hawke 1983
John Howard			Liberal Party	Bennelong (NSW)	11 March 1983	5 September 1985		Peacock 1983–85
Neil Brown			Liberal Party	Menzies (Vic)	5 September 1985	17 July 1987		Howard 1985–89
Andrew Peacock			Liberal Party	Kooyong (Vic)	17 July 1987	9 May 1989
Fred Chaney			Liberal Party	Senator for Western Australia (WA) 1989–90 Pearce (WA) 1990	9 May 1989	24 March 1990		Peacock 1989–90
Peter Reith			Liberal Party	Flinders (Vic)	24 March 1990	13 March 1993		Hewson 1990–94
Michael Wooldridge			Liberal Party	Chisholm (Vic)	13 March 1993	23 May 1994
Peter Costello			Liberal Party	Higgins (Vic)	23 May 1994	19 March 1996		Downer 1994–95
								Howard 1995–96
Gareth Evans			Labor Party	Holt (Vic)	19 March 1996	19 October 1998		Beazley 1996–2001
Simon Crean			Labor Party	Hotham (Vic)	19 October 1998	22 November 2001
Jenny Macklin			Labor Party	Jagajaga (Vic)	22 November 2001	18 September 2006		Crean 2001–03
								Latham 2003–05
								Beazley 2005–06
Julia Gillard			Labor Party	Lalor (Vic)	4 December 2006	3 December 2007		Rudd 2006–07
Julie Bishop			Liberal Party	Curtin (WA)	3 December 2007	18 September 2013		Nelson 2007–08
								Turnbull 2008–09
								Abbott 2009–13
Anthony Albanese			Labor Party	Grayndler (NSW)	18 September 2013	14 October 2013		Bowen 2013
Tanya Plibersek			Labor Party	Sydney (NSW)	14 October 2013	30 May 2019		Shorten 2013–19
Richard Marles			Labor Party	Corio (Vic)	30 May 2019	Incumbent		Albanese 2019–

See also

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).

• Prime Minister of Australia
• List of prime ministers of Australia
• Politics of Australia

Notes

References

1. Jaensch, Dean (1997). The Politics of Australia. Melbourne: MacMillan Education Australia. p. 100. ISBN 0-7329-4128-8.
2. "A House for the nation". Commonwealth of Australia. Archived from the original on 30 August 2007. Retrieved 14 December 2007.
3. "The (official) Opposition". House of Representatives Practice (7th ed.). 2018. Retrieved 9 February 2020.
4. Heriot, Dianne (12 February 2019). "Australia's first Parliament: Her Majesty's loyal opposition" (PDF). FlagPost. Australian Parliamentary Library. Retrieved 9 February 2020.
5. Brett, Judith. The Enigmatic Mr Deakin. Text Publishing. p. 397. ISBN 9781925498660.
6. "Salary". Department of Finance. Retrieved 9 February 2020.
7. Doran, Matthew (8 June 2019). "Pay rise coming for federal politicians as they prepare to return to Canberra". ABC News. Retrieved 9 February 2020.
8. "Hon Chris Bowen MP". Parliament of Australia. Retrieved 26 October 2019.
9. The Mercury, Hobart (1860-1954), 18 March 1927 - THE NEWS IN BRIEF