Leader_of_the_Opposition_in_the_Senate_(Australia)

Leader of the Opposition in the Senate (Australia)

Leader of the Opposition in the Senate (Australia)

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The Leader of the Opposition in the Senate is a party office held by the Opposition's most senior member of the Shadow Cabinet in the Australian Senate, elected to lead the opposition party (or parties) in the body.[1] Though the leader in the Senate does not have the power of the office of Leader of the Opposition (i.e. the leader in the House of Representatives and overall party leader), there are some parallels between the latter's status in the lower house and the former's in the Senate.[1] In addition to his or her own shadow ministerial portfolio, the leader has overarching responsibility for all policy areas and acts as the opposition's principal spokesperson in the upper house. The leader is entitled to sit at the table of the Senate,[1] and has priority in gaining recognition from the President of the Senate to speak in debate. Another similarity is that the leader typically announces changes to opposition officeholders in the Senate, including shadow ministers, party leadership and whips.[2] The leader also has some responsibility for appointing opposition senators to committees, a role filled by the Manager of Opposition Business and whips in the lower house. The current leader is Simon Birmingham. He is assisted by a Deputy Leader of the Opposition in the Senate, currently Michaelia Cash.

Quick Facts Australian Senate, Style ...

List of leaders of the opposition in the Senate

More information Senate opposition, Term began ...

See also

Notes

  1. [n 1]
    Symon was elected the party's leader in the Senate in 1901, when the party was in Opposition.[3] He remained leader when the party was in Government from 1904 to 1905[4] and when the party again found itself on the Opposition benches.[5]
  2. [n 2]
    McGregor was the Labor Party's leader in the Senate (and Deputy Leader of the federal Labor Party) from Federation until the double dissolution that triggered the 1914 election. As such, he held the title Leader of the Senate when in Government,[6][7][8] and that of Leader of the Opposition in the Senate whenever Labor formed the Official Opposition[9][10] during that period.
  3. [n 3]
    Millen succeeded Symon as Leader of the Opposition on 21 November 1907[11] and became Senate leader of the new Commonwealth Liberal Party, taking up the office of Leader of the Senate upon when the party entered Government on 2 June 1909.[12] He continued as leader of the party in the Senate as it alternated between Government[13][14][15] and Opposition.[16][17]
  4. [n 4]
    After Billy Hughes, the Prime Minister, split with the Labor Party in November 1916, his new National Labor Party Government survived with the help of the Commonwealth Liberal Party. The latter remained, technically, in Opposition for the time being. Therefore, until National Labor and the Liberals formed a coalition government on 14 February 1017,[18] Millen remained Leader of the Opposition.[19] Gardiner was Leader of the Opposition from 14 February and was referred to as such in the Senate that day.[20]
  5. [n 5]
    Gardiner's tenure includes a period from 1 July 1920 to 26 May 1922 in which he was Labor's sole senator, but he was still considered Leader of the Opposition.[21][22][23][24]
  6. [n 6]
    Pearce was leader of the Nationalist Party in the Senate while it was in Government, and he continued in the role after the party entered Opposition.[27] He was elected Senate leader of the new United Australia Party when it was created as a merger of the Nationalists, other anti-Labor parties, and some Labor MPs.[28]
  7. [n 7]
    Barnes was Labor's Senate leader before it left Government,[29] and he continued as leader afterwards.[30]
  8. [n 8]
    McLeay was the UAP leader in the Senate in Government,[32] and continued as leader after the UAP–Country coalition fell.[33]
  9. [n 9]
    The UAP/Liberals and Country Party did not form a coalition opposition from 1943 to 1949 in the House of Representatives. However, from 1 July 1947 until the parties won government in 1949, the Senate parties formed a combined opposition because the Country senator and two Liberal senators were the only non-Labor members of the upper house. Cooper served as leader, Neil O'Sullivan as deputy, and Annabelle Rankin as whip.
  10. [N 10]
    Ashley was Leader of the Government in the Senate until the Menzies Government took power.[35] He continued as Labor's leader in the Senate.[36]
  11. [N 11]
    Wriedt was Leader of the Government prior to the Dismissal,[41] and continued as Labor's leader thereafter.[42]
  12. [N 12]
    Resigned from the Senate while leader to seek a seat in the House of Representatives.

References

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  2. [2]
    "6. Senators: Parties and party leaders". Odger's Australian Senate Practice (13th ed.). Retrieved 23 August 2013.
  3. [3]
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  20. [20]
    Patrick Lynch, Minister for Works and Railways (14 February 1917). http://parlinfo.aph.gov.au/parlInfo/search/display/display.w3p;adv=yes;db=HANSARD80;id=hansard80%2Fhansards80%2F1917-02-14%2F0053;orderBy=_fragment_number,doc_date-rev;query=Dataset%3Ahansards,hansards80%20Decade%3A%221910s%22%20Year%3A%221917%22%20Month%3A%2202%22%20Day%3A%2214%22;rec=0;resCount=Default. Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). Commonwealth of Australia: Senate. p. 10490. {{cite book}}: |chapter-url= missing title (help)
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    George Fairbairn (12 July 1920). http://parlinfo.aph.gov.au/parlInfo/search/display/display.w3p;adv=yes;db=HANSARD80;id=hansard80%2Fhansards80%2F1920-07-21%2F0020;orderBy=_fragment_number,doc_date-rev;query=Dataset%3Ahansards,hansards80%20Decade%3A%221920s%22%20Year%3A%221920%22%20Month%3A%2207%22%20Day%3A%2221%22;rec=0;resCount=Default. Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). Commonwealth of Australia: Senate. p. 2828. {{cite book}}: |chapter-url= missing title (help)
  22. [22]
    Albert Gardiner, Leader of the Opposition in the Senate (20 October 1920). http://parlinfo.aph.gov.au/parlInfo/search/display/display.w3p;adv=yes;db=HANSARD80;id=hansard80%2Fhansards80%2F1920-10-20%2F0005;orderBy=_fragment_number,doc_date-rev;query=Dataset%3Ahansards,hansards80%20Decade%3A%221920s%22%20Year%3A%221920%22%20Month%3A%2210%22%20Day%3A%2220%22;rec=0;resCount=Default. Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). Commonwealth of Australia: Senate. p. 5766. {{cite book}}: |chapter-url= missing title (help)
  23. [23]
    Josiah Thomas (29 April 1921). http://parlinfo.aph.gov.au/parlInfo/search/summary/summary.w3p;adv=yes;orderBy=_fragment_number,doc_date-rev;query=Dataset%3Ahansards,hansards80%20Decade%3A%221920s%22%20Year%3A%221921%22%20Month%3A%2204%22%20Day%3A%2229%22;resCount=Default. Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). Commonwealth of Australia: Senate. p. 7901. {{cite book}}: |chapter-url= missing title (help)
  24. [24]
    Thomas Bakhap, Chairman of Committees (16 November 1921). http://parlinfo.aph.gov.au/parlInfo/search/display/display.w3p;adv=yes;db=HANSARD80;id=hansard80%2Fhansards80%2F1921-11-16%2F0019;orderBy=_fragment_number,doc_date-rev;query=Dataset%3Ahansards,hansards80%20Decade%3A%221920s%22%20Year%3A%221921%22%20Month%3A%2211%22%20Day%3A%2216%22;rec=0;resCount=Default. Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). Commonwealth of Australia: Senate. p. 12769. {{cite book}}: |chapter-url= missing title (help)
  25. [25]
    "Federal Politics: Labour Leader in Senate, Needham Elected". The West Australian. Perth. 10 July 1926. p. 11. Retrieved 22 August 2014.
  26. [26]
    "The Senate: Mr. Daly Opposition Leader". The Advertiser. Adelaide. 26 June 1929. p. 13.
  27. [27]
    Bert Hoare (29 November 1929). http://parlinfo.aph.gov.au/parlInfo/search/display/display.w3p;adv=yes;db=HANSARD80;id=hansard80%2Fhansards80%2F1929-11-29%2F0029;orderBy=_fragment_number,doc_date-rev;query=Dataset%3Ahansards,hansards80%20Decade%3A%221920s%22%20Year%3A%221929%22%20Month%3A%2211%22%20Day%3A%2229%22;rec=0;resCount=Default. Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). Commonwealth of Australia: Senate. p. 481. {{cite book}}: |chapter-url= missing title (help)
  28. [28]
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    Joe Collings, Leader of the Opposition in the Senate (23 September 1935). http://parlinfo.aph.gov.au/parlInfo/search/display/display.w3p;adv=yes;db=HANSARD80;id=hansard80%2Fhansards80%2F1935-09-23%2F0018;orderBy=_fragment_number,doc_date-rev;query=Dataset%3Ahansards,hansards80%20Decade%3A%221930s%22%20Year%3A%221935%22%20Month%3A%2209%22%20Day%3A%2223%22;rec=0;resCount=Default. Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). Commonwealth of Australia: Senate. p. 5. {{cite book}}: |chapter-url= missing title (help)
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    "Health Portfolio—Senator Foll". The Mercury. Hobart. 8 November 1938. p. 7. Retrieved 6 September 2013.
  33. [33]
    "Senate Opposition, McLeay Elected Leader". Townsville Daily Bulletin. Townsville, Qld. 9 October 1941. p. 4. Retrieved 8 September 2013.
  34. [34]
    Walter Cooper, Leader of the Opposition in the Senate (15 October 1947). http://parlinfo.aph.gov.au/parlInfo/search/display/display.w3p;adv=yes;db=HANSARD80;id=hansard80%2Fhansards80%2F1947-10-15%2F0039;orderBy=_fragment_number,doc_date-rev;query=Dataset%3Ahansards,hansards80%20Decade%3A%221940s%22%20Year%3A%221947%22%20Month%3A%2210%22%20Day%3A%2215%22;rec=0;resCount=Default. Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). Commonwealth of Australia: Senate. p. 727. {{cite book}}: |chapter-url= missing title (help)
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    "Party Meetings Choose Leaders and Nominees". The Canberra Times. 12 June 1951. p. 4. Retrieved 8 September 2013.
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