Leader of the Opposition (Western Australia)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Leader of the Opposition in Western Australia is the leader of the largest political party in parliament but not in government. He or she is always a member of the Legislative Assembly. As of 24 March 2006 the Leader of the Opposition in Western Australia is Paul Omodei who replaced Matt Birney who had been leader since September 2005.

Prior to 1906, the Western Australian political system had neither organised political parties nor an organised opposition. The notion of leader of the opposition was well-understood however, and on occasions was applied to members. Maitland Brown, for example, was often referred to as Leader of the Opposition during his period as an outspoken critic of Governor Robinson's Government.

[edit] List of Leaders of the Opposition in Western Australia

This is an incomplete list of Leaders of the Opposition in Western Australia, from 1905 to present:

Leader of the Opposition	Period
Henry Daglish	25 August–27 September 1905
William Johnson	4 October 1905–27 October 1906
Thomas Bath	1906–1910
John Scaddan	3 August 1910–October 1911
Frank Wilson	1 November 1911–27 July 1916
John Scaddan	31 October 1916–April 1917
Philip Collier	1917–1924
James Mitchell	1924–1930
Philip Collier	1930–1933
Charles Latham	April 1933–October 1942
Arthur Watts	8 October 1942–1 April 1947
Frank Wise	1 April 1947–26 June 1951
Bert Hawke	3 July 1951–22 February 1953
Ross McLarty	23 February 1953–1 March 1957
David Brand	1 March 1957–1 April 1959
Bert Hawke	2 April 1959–31 December 1966
John Tonkin	1 January 1967–2 March 1971
David Brand	3 March 1971–5 June 1972
Charles Court	5 June 1972–8 April 1974
John Tonkin	8 April 1974–15 April 1976
Colin Jamieson	16 April 1976–21 February 1978
Ronald Davies	21 February 1978–18 September 1981
Brian Burke	18 September 1981–19 February 1983
Ray O'Connor	19 February 1983–15 February 1984
Bill Hassell	15 February 1984–25 November 1986
Barry Mackinnon	25 November 1986–12 May 1992
Richard Court	12 May 1992–6 February 1993
Carmen Lawrence	16 February 1993–7 February 1994
Ian Taylor	2 February 1994–12 October 1994
Jim McGinty	12 October 1994–15 October 1996
Geoff Gallop	15 October 1996–16 February 2001
Richard Court	16 February 2001–26 February 2001
Colin Barnett	26 February 2001–September 2005
Matt Birney	September 2005–24 March 2006
Paul Omodei	24 March 2006–present