Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

n parliamentary practice, the Opposition or the Official Opposition consists of the second largest party or coalition of parties in the

Australian House of Representatives The House of Representatives is the lower house of the bicameralism, bicameral Parliament of Australia, the upper house being the Australian Senate, Senate. Its composition and powers are set out in Chapter I of the Constitution of Australia. ...

, with its leader being given the title ''

Leader of the Opposition The Leader of the Opposition is a title traditionally held by the leader of the Opposition (parliamentary), largest political party not in government, typical in countries utilizing the parliamentary system form of government. The leader of the ...

''. The Opposition serves the same function as the

official opposition Parliamentary opposition is a form of political opposition to a designated government, particularly in a Westminster-based parliamentary system. This article uses the term ''government'' as it is used in Parliamentary systems, i.e. meaning ''t ...

in other

Commonwealth of Nations The Commonwealth of Nations, often referred to as the British Commonwealth or simply the Commonwealth, is an International organization, international association of member states of the Commonwealth of Nations, 56 member states, the vast majo ...

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 The Parliament of Australia (officially the Parliament of the Commonwealth and also known as the Federal Parliament) is the federal legislature of Australia. It consists of three elements: the Monarchy of Australia, monarch of Australia (repr ...

and at a general election. By convention, the Opposition Leader in the federal Parliament comes from the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entities. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often ...

, as does the deputy, although the Government and Opposition may also both have leaders in the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

. 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 (the embodiment of the Australian state), and thus to Australia. The current Opposition at a federal level is the centre-right

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. For example, while the political systems ...

/ National Party

Coalition A coalition is formed when two or more people or groups temporarily work together to achieve a common goal. The term is most frequently used to denote a formation of power in political, military, or economic spaces. Formation According to ''A G ...

, led by

Sussan Ley Sussan Penelope Ley (pron. , "Susan Lee"; ; born 14 December 1961) is an Australian politician who is the current Leader of the Opposition (Australia), Leader of the Opposition and Leader of the Liberal Party of Australia, leader of the Liberal ...

State and territory opposition

The opposition parties and leaders in the

Australian states and territories The states and territories are the national subdivisions and second level of government of Australia. The states are partially sovereign, administrative divisions that are self-governing polities, having ceded some sovereign rights to the fede ...

are:

References

{{Australian opposition leaders

State and territory opposition

See also

References