Opposition (Australia)

Last updated

In Australian parliamentary practice, the Opposition or the Official Opposition consists of the second largest party or coalition of parties in the Australian House of Representatives, with its leader being given the title Leader of the Opposition . The Opposition serves the same function as the official opposition in other Commonwealth of Nations monarchies that follow the Westminster conventions and practices. It is seen as the alternative government and the existing administration's main opponent in the Australian Parliament and at a general election. By convention, the Opposition Leader in the federal Parliament comes from the House of Representatives, as does the deputy, although the Government and Opposition may also both have leaders in the Senate. The Opposition is sometimes styled as His Majesty's Loyal Opposition [1] to show that, although the group may be against the sitting government, it remains loyal to the Crown (the embodiment of the Australian state), and thus to Australia.

Contents

The current Opposition at a federal level is the centre-right Liberal Party/National Party Coalition, led by Peter Dutton.

State and territory opposition

The opposition parties and leaders in the Australian states and territories are:

State/territoryOpposition party/coalitionLeader of the OppositionOpposition
Australian Capital Territory Liberal Leanne Castley Australian Capital Territory Opposition [2]
New South Wales Liberal (Coalition) Mark Speakman New South Wales Opposition [3]
National (Coalition)
Northern Territory Labor Selena Uibo Northern Territory Opposition [4]
Queensland Labor Steven Miles Queensland Opposition [5]
South Australia Liberal Vincent Tarzia [6] South Australian Opposition [7]
Tasmania Labor Dean Winter Tasmanian Opposition [8]
Victoria Liberal (Coalition) John Pesutto Victorian Opposition [9]
National (Coalition)
Western Australia National Shane Love Western Australian Opposition [10]
Liberal

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Country Liberal Party</span> Northern Territory political party

The Country Liberal Party of the Northern Territory (CLP), commonly known as the Country Liberals, is a centre-right and conservative political party in Australia's Northern Territory. In territory politics, it operates in a two-party system with the Australian Labor Party (ALP). It also contests federal elections as an affiliate of the Liberal Party of Australia and National Party of Australia, the two partners in the federal coalition.

The National Party of Australia, commonly known as the Nationals or simply the Nats, is a centre-right and agrarian political party in Australia. Traditionally representing graziers, farmers, and rural voters generally, it began as the Australian Country Party in 1920 at a federal level.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Prime Minister of Australia</span> Head of government of Australia

The prime minister of Australia is the head of government of the Commonwealth of Australia. The prime minister is the chair of the Cabinet of Australia and thus the head of the federal executive government. Under the principles of responsible government, the prime minister is both responsible to and a member of the Commonwealth Parliament. The current prime minister is Anthony Albanese of the Australian Labor Party, who assumed the office on 23 May 2022.

The shadow cabinet or shadow ministry is a feature of the Westminster system of government. It consists of a senior group of opposition spokespeople who, under the leadership of the Leader of the Opposition, form an alternative cabinet to that of the government, and whose members shadow or mirror the positions of each individual member of the Cabinet. Their areas of responsibility, in parallel with the ruling party's ministries, may be referred to as a shadow portfolio. Members of a shadow cabinet have no executive power. It is the shadow cabinet's responsibility to scrutinise the policies and actions of the government, as well as to offer alternative policies. The shadow cabinet makes up the majority of the Official Opposition frontbench, as part of frontbenchers to the parliament. Smaller opposition parties in Britain and Ireland have Frontbench Teams.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sussan Ley</span> Australian politician (born 1961)

Sussan Penelope Ley is an Australian politician who has been deputy leader of the Liberal Party and Deputy Leader of the Opposition since May 2022. She has been member of parliament (MP) for the New South Wales seat of Farrer since 2001 and was a cabinet minister in the Abbott, Turnbull and Morrison governments.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly</span> Unicameral legislature of the Australian Capital Territory

The Legislative Assembly for the Australian Capital Territory is the unicameral legislature of the Australian Capital Territory (ACT). It sits in the Legislative Assembly Building on Civic Square, close to the centre of the city of Canberra.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Leader of the Opposition (Australia)</span> Australian parliamentary position

In Australian federal politics, the Leader of His Majesty's Loyal Opposition, more commonly referred to as the Leader of the Opposition is an elected member of parliament (MP) in the Australian House of Representatives who leads the opposition. The Leader of the Opposition, by convention, is the leader of the largest political party in the House of Representatives that is not in government.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Coalition (Australia)</span> Group of centre-right political parties in Australia

The Liberal–National Coalition, commonly known simply as the Coalition or the LNP, is an alliance of centre-right to right-wing political parties that forms one of the two major groupings in Australian federal politics. The two partners in the Coalition are the Liberal Party of Australia and the National Party of Australia. Its main opponent is the Australian Labor Party (ALP); the two forces are often regarded as operating in a two-party system. The Coalition was last in government from 2013 to 2022. The group is led by Peter Dutton, who succeeded Scott Morrison after the 2022 federal election.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ian Macdonald (Australian politician)</span> Australian politician

Ian Douglas Macdonald is an Australian former politician who served as a Senator for Queensland from 1990 to 2019, representing the Liberal Party. He was Minister for Regional Services, Territories and Local Government (1998–2001) and Minister for Fisheries, Forestry and Conservation (2001–2006) in the Howard government. He was defeated at the 2019 federal election, having been the longest-serving incumbent member of parliament for the final years of his career.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Northern Territory Government</span> Territory government of the Northern Territory, Australia

The Government of the Northern Territory of Australia, also referred to as the Northern Territory Government, the Government of the Northern Territory or simply the NT Government, is the executive branch of the Northern Territory. The Government of Northern Territory was formed in 1978 with the granting of self-government to the Territory. The Northern Territory is a territory of the Commonwealth of Australia, and the Constitution of Australia and Commonwealth law regulates its relationship with the Commonwealth.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paul Everingham</span> Australian politician

Paul Anthony Edward Everingham is a former Australian politician who was the head of government of the Northern Territory of Australia from 1977 to 1984, serving as the second and last Majority Leader (1977–1978) and the first Chief Minister of the Northern Territory from 1978 to 1984. He represented the northern Darwin seat of Jingili in the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly from 1974 to 1984. He was then elected to the federal House of Representatives, representing the Northern Territory between 1984 and 1987.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Politics of Australia</span> Political system of Australia

The politics of Australia operates under the written Australian Constitution, which sets out Australia as a constitutional monarchy, governed via a parliamentary democracy in the Westminster tradition. Australia is also a federation, where power is divided between the federal government and the states. The monarch, currently King Charles III, is the head of state and is represented locally by the governor-general, while the head of government is the prime minister, currently Anthony Albanese.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Simon Birmingham</span> Australian politician

Simon John Birmingham is an Australian politician who has been a Senator for South Australia since 2007. A member of the Liberal Party, he served in the Morrison government as Minister for Finance from 2020 to 2022 and as Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment from 2018 to 2020. He previously served as Minister for Education and Training in the Turnbull government from 2015 to 2018, and as a parliamentary secretary and assistant minister in the Abbott government.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alistair Coe</span> Australian politician

Alistair Bruce Coe is an Australian politician and a former leader of the Liberal Party and Leader of the Opposition in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT). He was a member of the ACT Legislative Assembly from 2008 to 2021, representing the Ginninderra electorate from 2008 to 2016 and the Yerrabi electorate from 2016 to 2021. As Opposition Leader Coe led the Liberal Party to defeat at the 2020 election. He chose not to re-contest the party's leadership position, and resigned from the Assembly in 2021.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mark Speakman</span> Australian politician

Mark Raymond Speakman is an Australian politician. He has been a member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly since 2011, representing Cronulla for the Liberal Party. On 21 April 2023, he became the Leader of the Opposition and Leader of the Liberal Party in New South Wales.

Elizabeth Lee is an Australian politician. She has been a member of the Liberal Party and has served in the Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly since 2016, representing the electorate of Kurrajong. Before entering the ACT Legislative Assembly, Lee had a successful career as a lawyer in the private sector. Later, she became a lecturer at the Australian National University and University of Canberra.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James Griffin (Australian politician)</span> Australian politician

James Henry Griffin is an Australian politician. He is a member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly representing the electoral district of Manly for the Liberal Party. Griffin was the New South Wales Minister for Environment and Heritage in the Second Perrottet ministry from December 2021 to March 2023.

The Opposition in the Australian state of New South Wales comprises the largest party or coalition of parties not in Government. The Opposition's purpose is to hold the Government to account and constitute a "Government-in-waiting" should the existing Government fall. To that end, a Leader of the Opposition and Shadow Ministers for the various government departments question the Premier and Ministers on Government policy and administration, and formulate the policy the Opposition would pursue in Government. It is sometimes styled "His Majesty's Loyal Opposition" to demonstrate that although it opposes the Government, it remains loyal to the King.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2024 Australian Capital Territory general election</span>

The 2024 Australian Capital Territory general election was held on 19 October 2024 to elect all 25 members of the unicameral ACT Legislative Assembly.

References

  1. ↑ Maiden, Samantha (18 November 2010). "Altar egos clash over Wills and Babykins". The Australian. Retrieved 31 March 2011.
  2. ↑ "ACT Shadow Ministry Tenth Assembly" (PDF). www.parliament.act.gov.au. 30 June 2022. Archived (PDF) from the original on 18 September 2023. Retrieved 18 September 2023.
  3. ↑ "Shadow Ministry". Parliament of New South Wales . Retrieved 18 September 2023.
  4. ↑ "Shadow Ministry - 14th Assembly". parliament.nt.gov.au. Legislative Assembly of the Northern Territory. 19 May 2023. Retrieved 18 September 2023.
  5. ↑ "Current Shadow Ministers". www.parliament.qld.gov.au. Queensland Parliament. Retrieved 18 September 2023.
  6. ↑ "SA Liberals elect former environment minister David Speirs as new party leader". ABC News. 19 April 2022. Archived from the original on 18 September 2023.
  7. ↑ "South Australia - 55th Parliament Shadow Ministry" (PDF). The Parliament of South Australia. 8 August 2023. Archived (PDF) from the original on 18 September 2023. Retrieved 18 September 2023.
  8. ↑ "Labor Shadow Ministry". www.parliament.tas.gov.au. Parliament of Tasmania. Archived from the original on 18 September 2023. Retrieved 18 September 2023.
  9. ↑ "Liberal Nationals Shadow Cabinet" (PDF). new.parliament.vic.gov.au. 20 December 2022. Retrieved 18 September 2023.
  10. ↑ "Shadow Ministers". www.parliament.wa.gov.au. Retrieved 18 September 2023.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.