The Opposition in the Australian territory of the Australian Capital Territory 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 Chief Minister 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.
The current Leader of the Opposition is Liberal Leader Elizabeth Lee, and Leanne Castley is the deputy leader.
The Shadow Ministry was announced on 7 December 2023 following the deputy leadership spill on 4 December 2023 where Jeremy Hanson was voted out 5-3 in favour of Leanne Castley. [1] [2] Jeremy Hanson was then removed from Shadow Cabinet alongside Elizabeth Kikkert in the reshuffle.
| Shadow Minister | Portfolio [3] | Image |
|---|---|---|
| Elizabeth Lee MLA |
|  |
| Leanne Castley MLA |
| |
| Peter Cain MLA |
| |
| Nicole Lawder MLA |
| |
| James Milligan MLA |
| |
| Mark Parton MLA |
| |
| Ed Cocks MLA |
|
The shadow ministry was announced on 8 April 2021. It was formed following the resignation of former Canberra Liberals Opposition Leader Alistair Coe by Opposition Leader Elizabeth Lee. [4] [5]
On 2 June 2022 Giulia Jones resigned from the Legislative Assembly, and Ed Cocks was elected on countback on 20 June. [6] [7] Cocks was immediately elevated to Shadow Cabinet with portfolios for mental health, jobs and workplace affairs, and regulatory services. Leanne Castley retained health and wellbeing. Jeremy Hanson was elevated to Opposition Leader with the additional portfolio area for early childhood education. Peter Cain became responsible for multicultural affairs. [8]
| Officeholder | Office(s) |
|---|---|
| Elizabeth Lee MLA |
|
| Giulia Jones MLA |
|
| Peter Cain MLA |
|
| Leanne Castley MLA |
|
| Jeremy Hanson MLA |
|
| Elizabeth Kikkert MLA |
|
| Nicole Lawder MLA |
|
| James Milligan MLA |
|
| Mark Parton MLA |
|
Gary John Joseph Humphries is a Deputy President of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal. He was a member of the Australian Senate representing the Australian Capital Territory for the Liberal Party of Australia from 2003 to 2013. He was the Chief Minister of the Australian Capital Territory from 2000 to 2001; and was elected to the first parliament of the Australian Capital Territory, in 1989, later representing the Molonglo electorate until 2003.
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.
In Australian parliamentary practice, the Opposition, Official Opposition or His Majesty's Most Loyal 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 to show that, although the group may be against the sitting government, it remains loyal to the Crown, and thus to Australia.
Brendan Michael Smyth is an Australian former politician, who was a member of the Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly representing the electorate of Brindabella for the Liberal Party from 1998 until 2016. From 2002 to 2006 Smyth was the ACT Leader of the Opposition and served briefly as the Deputy Chief Minister during 2000 and 2001. He has held the ACT portfolios Urban Services, Business, Tourism and the Arts, and Police and Emergency Services.
Andrew James Barr is an Australian politician who has been serving as the 7th Chief Minister of the Australian Capital Territory since 2014. He has been an Australian Labor Party member in the ACT Legislative Assembly since 2006, after being elected on a countback to replace former Treasurer Ted Quinlan, who resigned mid-term. Barr was immediately promoted to Cabinet upon his election. On 11 December 2014 he was elected as Chief Minister after his predecessor, Katy Gallagher, resigned and announced her intention to run for the Senate. In addition to being Chief Minister, he holds the portfolios of Treasurer, Social Inclusion and Equality, Tourism and Special Events, and Trade, Industry and Investment.
Elections to the Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly were held on Saturday, 18 October 2008. The incumbent Labor Party, led by Jon Stanhope, was challenged by the Liberal Party, led by Zed Seselja. Candidates were elected to fill three multi-member electorates using a single transferable vote method, known as the Hare-Clark system. The result was another hung parliament with Labor winning seven seats, the Liberals six seats and the Greens finishing with four seats, giving the Greens the balance of power in the 17-member unicameral Assembly. On 31 October 2008, after almost two weeks of deliberations, the Greens chose to support a Labor minority government. Consequently, Labor was re-elected to a third consecutive term of government in the ACT. Stanhope was elected Chief Minister at the first sitting of the seventh Assembly on 5 November 2008. The election was conducted by the ACT Electoral Commission.
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.
Jeremy David Hanson, CSC, MLA is a former Australian Army officer and is an Australian politician with the Liberal Party, elected to the Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly as one of seven MLAs for the Molonglo electorate at the 2008 election. He was the Opposition Leader in the ACT, as well as Shadow Minister for Health, Police, Corrections and Indigenous Affairs, between February 2013 and October 2016. In 2016, following a redistricting of the ACT's electorates and an expansion in size of the Legislative Assembly, he was elected as one of five MLAs for the new electorate of Murrumbidgee.
Elections to the Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly occurred on Saturday, 20 October 2012. The 11-year incumbent Labor Party, led by Chief Minister Katy Gallagher, won a fourth term over the main opposition Liberal Party, led by opposition leader Zed Seselja.
Lia Emele Finocchiaro is an Australian politician. She has been a Country Liberal Party member of the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly for the seat of Spillett since her election in 2016. She became Leader of the Opposition in the Northern Territory after the resignation of Gary Higgins on 1 February 2020. She was previously the member for Drysdale from 2012 to 2016.
A general election for the Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly was held on Saturday, 15 October 2016.
Giulia Jones is an Australian politician. She was a member of the Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly representing the electorates of Molonglo and then Murrumbidgee for the Liberal Party from 2012 until her resignation in 2022. Jones was the deputy leader of the Liberal Party in the ACT from October 2020 to January 2022.
The Murrumbidgee electorate is one of the five electorates for the unicameral 25-member Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly. It elected five members at the 2016 ACT election.
The 2020 Australian Capital Territory general election was held between 28 September and 17 October 2020 to elect all 25 members of the unicameral ACT Legislative Assembly.
Elizabeth Lee is an Australian politician. She has been a Liberal member of the Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly since 2016, representing the electorate of Kurrajong. Prior to entering the ACT Legislative Assembly in 2016, Elizabeth was a successful lawyer in the private sector and later a lecturer at the Australian National University and University of Canberra. Having migrated to Australia from Korea at the age of seven, Elizabeth moved to Canberra when she turned 18 to study Law and Asian Studies at The Australian National University.
James Keith Milligan is an Australian politician. He was a Liberal member of the Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly from 2016 to 2020, representing the electorate of Yerrabi. He ran a graphic design publishing business before his election, and was communications director of the Gungahlin Community Council.
The Canberra Liberals, officially known as the Liberal Party of Australia, is the division of the Liberal Party of Australia in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT). The party has been in opposition in the ACT Legislative Assembly for much of its existence, but held power with the support of minor parties and independents between 1989 and 1991 and again between 1995 and 2001.
Leanne Castley is a member of parliament in the Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly representing the Canberra Liberals.
The 2024 Australian Capital Territory general election will be held on or before Saturday the 19th of October 2024 to elect all 25 members of the unicameral ACT Legislative Assembly.
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.
