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.
The leader of the Official Opposition, formally known as the leader of His Majesty's Loyal Opposition, is the politician who leads the Official Opposition in Canada, typically the leader of the party possessing the most seats in the House of Commons that is not the governing party or part of the governing coalition.
Kevin James Andrews was an Australian politician. He was a member of the Liberal Party and served as a cabinet minister in the Howard and Abbott governments. He was a member of the House of Representatives from 1991 to 2022, representing the Victorian seat of Menzies.
The Cabinet of Australia, also known as the Federal Cabinet, is the chief decision-making body of the Australian government. The Cabinet is selected by the prime minister and is composed of senior government ministers who administer the executive departments and ministries of the federal government.
In New Zealand, the leader of the Official Opposition, commonly described as the leader of the Opposition, is the politician who heads the Official Opposition. Conventionally, they are the leader of the largest political party in the House of Representatives that is not in Government. This is usually the parliamentary leader of the second-largest caucus in the House of Representatives.
The Official Opposition Shadow Cabinet, or His Majesty’s Most Loyal Opposition Shadow Cabinet, but usually simply the Shadow Cabinet, is the committee of senior members of the Official Opposition who scrutinise the work of the Cabinet of the United Kingdom. Each Shadow Cabinet member is typically given a position which corresponds to that of a government minister in Cabinet.
The Liberal Democrats are a political party in the United Kingdom. While in opposition, the Leader of the Liberal Democrats appoints a frontbench team of members of Parliament (MPs), peers in the House of Lords, members of the Scottish Parliament (MSPs), and members of the Senedd (MSs) to speak for the party on different issues. Their areas of responsibility broadly corresponded to those of Government ministers. The frontbench team is divided into departmental sub-units, the principal ones being the economy, foreign policy, and home affairs. Sometimes the frontbench team consists of more than just the principal positions.
Peter Keaston Reith was an Australian politician who served in the House of Representatives from 1982 to 1983 and from 1984 to 2001, representing the Liberal Party. He was the party's deputy leader from 1990 to 1993, and served as a minister in the Howard government.
Michael Anthony O'Brien is an Australian politician. He has been a Liberal Party member of the Victorian Legislative Assembly since 2006, representing the electorate of Malvern and served as the leader of the party and opposition leader from December 2018 to September 2021.
Nicolas Pierre Goiran is an Australian politician who has been a member for the South Metropolitan Region of the Western Australian Legislative Council (MLC), the upper house of the Parliament of Western Australia, since 22 May 2009.
Bradley William Battin is an Australian politician who has served as the leader of the Victorian Liberal Party since 27 December 2024, and as member for Berwick in the Victorian Legislative Assembly since 2022. He was previously the member for Gembrook from 2010 until the seat was abolished in 2022 following the 2021 redistribution. He was formerly a police officer and owned a bakery in Wheelers Hill.
David James Speirs is a Scottish-Australian politician, who was the Leader of the Opposition in South Australia and Leader of the South Australian Liberal Party from April 2022 until August 2024. He was a member of the South Australian House of Assembly from the 2014 state election, representing the electorate of Bright from 2014 to 2018, and its successor, the electorate of Black, from 2018 to 2024.
John Pesutto is an Australian politician and lawyer who has served as the member for Hawthorn in the Victorian Legislative Assembly since 2022, having previously served from 2014 to 2018. He was the Leader of the Opposition in Victoria, while holding office as the leader of the Victorian Liberal Party, from 8 December 2022 until a leadership spill on 27 December 2024.
In the Senedd, the Leader of the Opposition is the leader of the Official Opposition, the largest political party that is not in the Welsh Government. The Leader of the Opposition leads and appoints members of the Shadow Cabinet and as such is sometimes styled as the Shadow First Minister of Wales.
Matthew Donald Andrew Bach is an Australian teacher, historian, and former politician. He served as a Liberal Member of the Victorian Parliament from 2020 to 2023, representing the North-Eastern Metropolitan Region in the Legislative Council. Bach also served as Deputy Leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Council, and as a frontbencher in the Shadow Cabinets of Michael O'Brien, Matthew Guy, and John Pesutto.
The Shadow Ministry of Matthew Guy was the Coalition opposition, opposing the Andrews government in the Parliament of Victoria, Australia. Matthew Guy held the position of opposition leader twice, first from 4 December 2014 until 6 December 2018, following his loss in the 2018 Victorian state election, and then again from 7 September 2021 until 8 December 2022 when he defeated his successor, Michael O'Brien in a leadership spill. The shadow cabinet was made up of the caucuses from the Liberal Party and Nationals.
The 44th Canadian Parliament is the session of the Parliament of Canada which began on 22 November 2021, with the membership of the House of Commons, having been determined by the results of the 2021 federal election held on 20 September. Parliament officially resumed on 22 November with the re-election of Speaker Anthony Rota, and the Speech from the Throne read by Governor General Mary Simon the following day.
The shadow ministry of Peter Dutton is the current shadow cabinet of Australia since 5 June 2022, serving in opposition to the Albanese government. The shadow ministry is the Opposition's alternative to the Albanese ministry, which was sworn in on 1 June 2022.
Jessica Kate Wilson is an Australian politician who is the member for Kew in the Victorian Legislative Assembly, representing the Liberal Party. Prior to her candidacy at the 2022 Victorian state election, Wilson was the executive director of the Business Council of Australia.
The shadow ministry of John Pesutto was the shadow cabinet of Victoria from 8 December 2022 to 27 December 2024, serving in opposition to the government led by Daniel Andrews and Jacinta Allan of the Australian Labor Party. The shadow ministry was the Opposition's alternative to the Third Andrews ministry and Allan Ministry.
