List of Australian Leaders of the Opposition
Leaders of the Opposition

List of Australian Leaders of the Opposition

Section Title: Leaders of the Opposition
Table Section Text: None

Leader	Party	Constituency	Took office	Left office	Prime Minister

George Reid	-	Free Trade Party	East Sydney (NSW)	19 May 1901	17 August 1904	Barton 1901–03

Deakin 1903–04

Watson 1904

Chris Watson	-	Labour Party	Bland (NSW)	18 August 1904	5 July 1905	Reid 1904–05

George Reid	-	Free Trade Party	East Sydney (NSW)	7 July 1905	16 November 1908	Deakin 1905–08

Anti-Socialist Party

Fisher 1908–09

Joseph Cook	-	Anti-Socialist Party	Parramatta (NSW)	17 November 1908	26 May 1909

Alfred Deakin	Rt. Hon. A. Deakin LCCN2014695989.tif	Commonwealth Liberal Party	Ballaarat (Vic)	26 May 1909	2 June 1909

Andrew Fisher	-	Labour Party	Wide Bay (Qld)	2 June 1909	29 April 1910	Deakin 1909

Alfred Deakin	Rt. Hon. A. Deakin LCCN2014695989.tif	Commonwealth Liberal Party	Ballaarat (Vic)	1 July 1910	20 January 1913	Fisher 1910–13

Joseph Cook	-	Commonwealth Liberal Party	Parramatta (NSW)	20 January 1913	24 June 1913

Andrew Fisher	-	Labor Party	Wide Bay (Qld)	8 July 1913	17 September 1914	Cook 1913–14

Joseph Cook	-	Commonwealth Liberal Party	Parramatta (NSW)	8 October 1914	17 February 1917	Fisher 1914–15

Hughes 1915–23

Frank Tudor	-	Labor Party	Yarra (Vic)	17 February 1917	10 January 1922

Matthew Charlton	-	Labor Party	Hunter (NSW)	25 January 1922	29 March 1928

Bruce 1923–29

James Scullin	-	Labor Party	Yarra (Vic)	26 April 1928	22 October 1929

John Latham	-	Nationalist Party	Kooyong (Vic)	20 November 1929	7 May 1931	Scullin 1929–32

Joseph Lyons	-	United Australia Party	Wilmot (Tas)	7 May 1931	6 January 1932

James Scullin	-	Labor Party	Yarra (Vic)	7 January 1932	1 October 1935	Lyons 1932–39

John Curtin	-	Labor Party	Fremantle (WA)	1 October 1935	7 October 1941

Page 1939

Menzies 1939–41

Fadden 1941

Arthur Fadden	-	Country Party	Darling Downs (Qld)	7 October 1941	23 September 1943	Curtin 1941–45

Robert Menzies	-	United Australia Party	Kooyong (Vic)	23 September 1943	19 December 1949

Liberal Party	Forde 1945

Chifley 1945–49

Ben Chifley	-	Labor Party	Macquarie (NSW)	19 December 1949	13 June 1951	Menzies 1949–66

H. V. Evatt	-	Labor Party	Barton (NSW) 1940–58 Hunter (NSW) 1958–60	20 June 1951	9 February 1960

Arthur Calwell	-	Labor Party	Melbourne (Vic)	7 March 1960	8 February 1967

Holt 1966–67

Gough Whitlam	-	Labor Party	Werriwa (NSW)	8 February 1967	2 December 1972

McEwen 1967–68

Gorton 1968–71

McMahon 1971–72

Billy Snedden	-	Liberal Party	Bruce (Vic)	20 December 1972	21 March 1975	Whitlam 1972–75

Malcolm Fraser	-	Liberal Party	Wannon (Vic)	21 March 1975	11 November 1975

Gough Whitlam	-	Labor Party	Werriwa (NSW)	11 November 1975	22 December 1977	Fraser 1975–83

Bill Hayden	-	Labor Party	Oxley (Qld)	22 December 1977	3 February 1983

Bob Hawke	-	Labor Party	Wills (Vic)	3 February 1983	11 March 1983

Andrew Peacock	-	Liberal Party	Kooyong (Vic)	11 March 1983	5 September 1985	Hawke 1983–91

John Howard	-	Liberal Party	Bennelong (NSW)	5 September 1985	9 May 1989

Andrew Peacock	-	Liberal Party	Kooyong (Vic)	9 May 1989	3 April 1990

John Hewson	-	Liberal Party	Wentworth (NSW)	3 April 1990	23 May 1994

Keating 1991–96

Alexander Downer	-	Liberal Party	Mayo (SA)	23 May 1994	30 January 1995

John Howard	-	Liberal Party	Bennelong (NSW)	30 January 1995	11 March 1996

Kim Beazley	-	Labor Party	Brand (WA)	19 March 1996	22 November 2001	Howard 1996–2007

Simon Crean	-	Labor Party	Hotham (Vic)	22 November 2001	2 December 2003

Mark Latham	-	Labor Party	Werriwa (NSW)	2 December 2003	18 January 2005

Kim Beazley	-	Labor Party	Brand (WA)	28 January 2005	4 December 2006

Kevin Rudd	-	Labor Party	Griffith (Qld)	4 December 2006	3 December 2007

Brendan Nelson	BrendanNelson.JPG	Liberal Party	Bradfield (NSW)	3 December 2007	16 September 2008	Rudd 2007–10

Malcolm Turnbull	Turnbull.JPG	Liberal Party	Wentworth (NSW)	16 September 2008	1 December 2009

Tony Abbott	-	Liberal Party	Warringah (NSW)	1 December 2009	18 September 2013

Gillard 2010–13

Rudd 2013

Chris Bowen	Chris Bowen.JPG	Labor Party	McMahon (NSW)	18 September 2013	13 October 2013	Abbott 2013–15

Bill Shorten	-	Labor Party	Maribyrnong (Vic)	13 October 2013	Incumbent

Turnbull 2015–18

Morrison 2018-present

Sentence(s)

In December 2006, Kevin Rudd successfully challenged Kim Beazley to become the Leader of the Labor Party (and thus Leader of the Opposition).

final_sentence: In December 2006, Kevin Rudd successfully challenged Kim Beazley to become the Leader of the Labor Party (and thus Leader of the Opposition).