Leader of the Opposition (New South Wales)

The Leader of the Opposition is a title held by the leader of the second-largest party in the New South Wales Legislative Assembly, the lower house of the Parliament of New South Wales.[1] There is also a Leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Council.[2] He or she acts as the public face of the opposition, leading the opposition on the floor of parliament. They act as a chief critic of the government and ultimately attempt to portray the opposition as a feasible alternate government. They are also given certain additional rights under parliamentary standing orders, such as extended time limits for speeches.

Leader of the Opposition
Incumbent Jodi McKay since 29 June 2019
Term length	While leader of the largest political party not in government
Inaugural holder	Charles Lee
Deputy	Yasmin Catley

The current leader of the opposition is Jodi McKay, who was elected leader on 29 June 2019.[3] Adam Searle serves as leader of the opposition in the Legislative Council.[4]

List of Leaders of the Opposition in New South Wales since 1901

Political parties

   Australian Labor Party    Liberal Party of Australia    Nationalist Party of Australia
   United Australia Party    Liberal Reform Party    Democratic Party    Country Party

Leaders of the Opposition in the Legislative Assembly

No.		Name	Portrait	Party	Term of Office		Tenure
	1	Charles Lee		Liberal Reform	23 March 1901	18 September 1902	1 year, 179 days
	2	Joseph Carruthers		Liberal Reform	18 September 1902	30 August 1904	1 year, 347 days
	3	James McGowen		Labor	20 September 1904	21 October 1910	6 years, 31 days
	4	Charles Wade		Liberal Reform	21 October 1910	15 November 1916	6 years, 25 days
	5	Ernest Durack		Labor	22 November 1916	19 February 1917	89 days
	6	John Storey		Labor	22 February 1917	13 April 1920	3 years, 51 days
	7	George Fuller		Nationalist	14 April 1920	13 April 1922	1 year, 364 days
	8	James Dooley		Labor	20 April 1922	9 March 1923	323 days
	9	Greg McGirr		Labor	9 March 1923	16 April 1923	38 days
	10	Bill Dunn		Labor	16 April 1923	31 July 1923	106 days
	11	Jack Lang		Labor	31 July 1923	17 June 1925	1 year, 321 days
	(7)	George Fuller		Nationalist	23 June 1925	24 September 1925	93 days
	12	Thomas Bavin		Nationalist	24 September 1925	18 October 1927	2 years, 24 days
	(11)	Jack Lang		Labor	18 October 1927	4 November 1930	3 years, 17 days
	(12)	Thomas Bavin		Nationalist	24 September 1925	18 October 1927	2 years, 24 days
				United Australia
	13	Bertram Stevens		United Australia	5 April 1932	13 May 1932	38 days
	(11)	Jack Lang		Labor	22 June 1932	5 September 1939	7 years, 75 days
	14	William McKell		Labor	5 September 1939	16 May 1941	1 year, 253 days
	15	Alexander Mair		United Australia	19 May 1941	10 February 1944	2 years, 267 days
				Democratic
	16	Reginald Weaver		Democratic	10 February 1944	12 November 1945	1 year, 275 days
				Liberal
	(15)	Alexander Mair		Liberal	13 November 1945	20 March 1946	127 days
	17	Vernon Treatt		Liberal	20 March 1946	10 August 1954	8 years, 143 days
	18	Murray Robson		Liberal	17 August 1954	20 September 1955	1 year, 34 days
	19	Pat Morton		Liberal	20 September 1955	17 July 1959	3 years, 300 days
	20	Robert Askin		Liberal	17 July 1959	13 May 1965	5 years, 300 days
	21	Jack Renshaw		Labor	14 May 1965	23 July 1968	3 years, 70 days
	22	Pat Hills		Labor	30 July 1968	3 December 1973	5 years, 126 days
	23	Neville Wran		Labor	3 December 1973	14 May 1976	2 years, 163 days
	24	Eric Willis		Liberal	15 May 1976	16 December 1977	1 year, 215 days
	25	Peter Coleman		Liberal	16 December 1977	7 October 1978	295 days
	26	John Mason		Liberal	24 October 1978	29 May 1981	2 years, 217 days
	27	Bruce McDonald		Liberal	1 June 1981	12 October 1981	133 days
	28	John Dowd		Liberal	27 October 1981	15 March 1983	1 year, 139 days
	29	Nick Greiner		Liberal	15 March 1983	25 March 1988	5 years, 10 days
	30	Bob Carr		Labor	6 April 1988	4 April 1995	6 years, 363 days
	31	Peter Collins		Liberal	4 April 1995	7 December 1998	3 years, 247 days
	32	Kerry Chikarovski		Liberal	7 December 1998	28 March 2002	3 years, 111 days
	33	John Brogden		Liberal	28 March 2002	1 September 2005	3 years, 157 days
	34	Peter Debnam		Liberal	1 September 2005	4 April 2007	1 year, 215 days
	35	Barry O'Farrell		Liberal	4 April 2007	28 March 2011	3 years, 358 days
	36	John Robertson		Labor	31 March 2011	23 December 2014	3 years, 267 days
	37	Luke Foley		Labor	5 January 2015	8 November 2018	3 years, 307 days
	38	Michael Daley		Labor	10 November 2018	25 March 2019	135 days
	39	Jodi McKay		Labor	29 June 2019	Incumbent	1 year, 46 days
Source:Parliament of New South Wales.[1]

Leaders of the Opposition in the Legislative Council

No.		Name	Portrait	Party	Term of Office		Tenure
	1	Sir Henry Manning[lower-alpha 1]		United Australia	16 May 1941 (1941-05-16)	22 April 1958 (1958-04-22)	16 years, 341 days
				Democratic
				Liberal
	2	Hector Clayton		Liberal	12 April 1960	30 October 1962	2 years, 201 days
	3	Arthur Bridges		Liberal	30 October 1962	13 May 1965	2 years, 195 days
	4	Reg Downing		Labor	13 May 1965	4 February 1972	6 years, 267 days
	5	Neville Wran		Labor	22 February 1972	19 October 1973	1 year, 239 days
	6	Leroy Serisier		Labor	3 December 1973	13 May 1976	2 years, 162 days
	7	Sir John Fuller		Country	14 May 1976	1 August 1978	2 years, 79 days
	8	Max Willis		Liberal	1 August 1978	20 October 1981	3 years, 80 days
	9	Lloyd Lange		Liberal	20 October 1981	3 April 1984	2 years, 166 days
	10	Ted Pickering		Liberal	3 April 1984	24 March 1988	3 years, 356 days
	11	Jack Hallam		Labor	6 April 1988	2 May 1991	3 years, 26 days
	12	Michael Egan		Labor	2 July 1991	4 April 1995	3 years, 276 days
	13	John Hannaford		Liberal	11 April 1995	31 March 1999	3 years, 354 days
	14	Mike Gallacher		Liberal	31 March 1999	4 March 2011	11 years, 338 days
	15	Tony Kelly		Labor	8 April 2011	6 June 2011	59 days
	16	Luke Foley		Labor	14 June 2011	8 April 2015	3 years, 298 days
	17	Adam Searle		Labor	8 April 2015	Incumbent	5 years, 128 days
Source:Parliament of New South Wales.[2]

Notes

1. Manning refused the role of 'official' Leader of the Opposition, when offered to him, owing to his beliefs in a non-partisan Legislative Council. Nevertheless he was considered by his colleagues as the de facto leader of the opposition members.[5]

References

1. "Leaders of the Opposition in the NSW Legislative Assembly, 1901 - present". Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 28 June 2020.
2. "Leaders of the Opposition in the NSW Legislative Council". Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 28 June 2020.
3. Martin, Lisa (29 June 2019). "Jodi McKay elected New South Wales Labor leader after tense meeting". The Guardian. Retrieved 29 June 2019.
4. "The Hon Adam Searle, MLC". Members of the Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 28 June 2020.
5. Ward, John M. "Manning, Sir Henry Edward (1877–1963)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Melbourne University Press. ISSN 1833-7538. Retrieved 28 June 2020 – via National Centre of Biography, Australian National University.

See also

• Leader of the New South Wales Liberal Party
• Leader of the Australian Labor Party in New South Wales
• Opposition (Australia)