Leader of the Opposition (Victoria)

Leader of the Opposition
Leader of the Opposition
	Incumbent; John Pesutto; since 8 December 2022
Term length	While leader of the largest political party not in government
Inaugural holder	George Prendergast
Formation	1904
Deputy	Peter Walsh

The Leader of His Majesty's Opposition in Victoria is the leader of the largest political party in parliament that is not in government. They are always a member of the Legislative Assembly.

Prior to 1904, opposition to the government of the day was less organised. Thus, the Victorian Parliamentary Record does not designate Leaders of the Opposition before then. The leader acts as the public face of the opposition, leading the opposition on the floor of parliament. They act as a chief critic of the government and ultimately attempt to portray the opposition as a feasible alternate government.

The office is currently held by John Pesutto after his election to the position of leader of the Liberal Party in December 2022.

List of leaders of the opposition in Victoria

This is an list of leaders of the opposition in Victoria.^[1]

	Name	Party	Constituency	Term of office		Tenure	Elections
1	George Prendergast	Labor	North Melbourne	7 June 1904	17 September 1913	9 years, 102 days	1904	Bent 1904–1909
							1907
							1908
							1911	Murray 1909–1912
							–	Watt 1912–1913
2	George Elmslie^[2]	Labor	Albert Park	17 September 1913	9 December 1913	83 days	–	Watt 1912–1913
3	William Watt	Commonwealth Liberal	Essendon	9 December 1913	22 December 1913	13 days	–	Elmslie 1913
(2)	George Elmslie^[2]	Labor	Albert Park	22 December 1913	11 May 1918	4 years, 140 days	–	Watt 1913–1914
							1914	Peacock 1914–1917
							1917	Bowser 1917–1918
							–	Lawson 1918–1924
(1)	George Prendergast^[3]	Labor	North Melbourne	18 June 1918	18 July 1924	6 years, 30 days	1920
							1921
							1924	Peacock 1924
4	Alexander Peacock	Nationalist	Allandale	18 July 1924	18 November 1924	123 days	–	Prendergast 1924
(1)	George Prendergast	Labor	North Melbourne	18 November 1924	14 April 1926	1 year, 147 days	–	Allan 1924–1927
5	Edmond Hogan^[4]	Labor	Warrenheip	14 April 1926	20 May 1927	1 year, 36 days	1927	Allan 1924–1927
6	William McPherson	Nationalist	Hawthorn	20 May 1927	22 November 1928	1 year, 186 days	–	Hogan 1927–1928
(5)	Edmond Hogan	Labor	Warrenheip and Grenville	22 November 1928	12 December 1929	1 year, 20 days	1929	McPherson 1928–1929
(6)	William McPherson	Nationalist	Hawthorn	12 December 1929	3 September 1930	265 days	–	Hogan 1929–1932
7	Stanley Argyle	Nationalist	Toorak	3 September 1930	19 May 1932	1 year, 259 days	–
7	Stanley Argyle	United Australia	Toorak	3 September 1930	19 May 1932	1 year, 259 days	1932
8	Tom Tunnecliffe	Labor	Collingwood	13 July 1932	2 April 1935	2 years, 263 days	1935	Argyle 1932–1935
(7)	Stanley Argyle	United Australia	Toorak	2 April 1935	23 November 1940	5 years, 235 days	1937	Dunstan 1935–1943
(7)	Stanley Argyle	United Australia	Toorak	2 April 1935	23 November 1940	5 years, 235 days	1940
9	Thomas Hollway	United Australia	Ballarat	23 November 1940	14 September 1943	2 years, 295 days	1943
10	Albert Dunstan	United Country	Korong and Eaglehawk	14 September 1943	18 September 1943	4 days	–	Cain 1943
11	John Cain	Labor	Northcote	18 September 1943	21 November 1945	2 years, 64 days	–	Dunstan 1943–1945
11	John Cain	Labor	Northcote	18 September 1943	21 November 1945	2 years, 64 days	1945	Macfarlan 1945
12	John McDonald	United Country	Shepparton	21 November 1945	20 November 1947	1 year, 364 days	1947	Cain 1945–1947
(11)	John Cain	Labor	Northcote	20 November 1947	7 December 1948	1 year, 17 days	–	Hollway 1947–1950
(12)	John McDonald	Country	Shepparton	7 December 1948	27 June 1950	1 year, 202 days	1950	Hollway 1947–1950
(9)	Thomas Hollway	Liberal and Country	Ballarat	27 June 1950	5 December 1951	1 year, 161 days	–	McDonald 1950–1952
13	Les Norman	Liberal and Country	Glen Iris	5 December 1951	23 July 1952	231 days	–
(11)	John Cain	Labor	Northcote	23 July 1952	17 December 1952	147 days	–
							–	Hollway 1952
							1952	McDonald 1952
14	Trevor Oldham	Liberal and Country	Malvern	17 December 1952	2 May 1953	136 days	–	Cain 1952–1955
15	Henry Bolte	Liberal and Country	Hampden	3 June 1953	7 June 1955	2 years, 4 days	1955	Cain 1952–1955
(11)	John Cain	Labor	Northcote	8 June 1955	4 August 1957	2 years, 57 days	–	Bolte 1955–1972
16	Ernie Shepherd	Labor	Ascot Vale Footscray	20 August 1957	12 September 1958^[5]	1 year, 23 days	1958
17	Clive Stoneham	Labor	Midlands	7 October 1958	15 May 1967^[6]	8 years, 220 days	1961
							1964
							1967
18	Clyde Holding	Labor	Richmond	15 May 1967	29 June 1977	10 years, 45 days	1970
							1973	Hamer 1972–1981
							1976
19	Frank Wilkes	Labor	Northcote	29 June 1977	9 September 1981^[6]	4 years, 72 days	1979
19	Frank Wilkes	Labor	Northcote	29 June 1977	9 September 1981^[6]	4 years, 72 days	–	Thompson 1981–1982
20	John Cain	Labor	Bundoora	9 September 1981	8 April 1982	211 days	1982	Thompson 1981–1982
21	Lindsay Thompson	Liberal	Malvern	8 April 1982	5 November 1982	211 days	–	Cain 1982–1990
22	Jeff Kennett	Liberal	Burwood	5 November 1982	23 May 1989	6 years, 199 days	1985
22	Jeff Kennett	Liberal	Burwood	5 November 1982	23 May 1989	6 years, 199 days	1988
23	Alan Brown	Liberal	Gippsland West	23 May 1989	23 April 1991	1 year, 335 days	–
23	Alan Brown	Liberal	Gippsland West	23 May 1989	23 April 1991	1 year, 335 days	–	Kirner 1990–1992
(22)	Jeff Kennett	Liberal	Burwood	23 April 1991	6 October 1992	1 year, 166 days	1992	Kirner 1990–1992
24	Joan Kirner	Labor	Williamstown	6 October 1992	22 March 1993	167 days	–	Kennett 1992–1999
25	Jim Kennan	Labor	Broadmeadows	22 March 1993	29 June 1993	99 days	–
26	John Brumby	Labor	Broadmeadows	14 July 1993	22 March 1999	5 years, 251 days	1996
27	Steve Bracks	Labor	Williamstown	22 March 1999	20 October 1999	212 days	1999
(22)	Jeff Kennett	Liberal	Burwood	20 October 1999	26 October 1999	6 days	–	Bracks 1999–2007
28	Denis Napthine	Liberal	Portland	26 October 1999	20 August 2002	2 years, 298 days	–
29	Robert Doyle	Liberal	Malvern	20 August 2002	8 May 2006	3 years, 261 days	2002
30	Ted Baillieu	Liberal	Hawthorn	8 May 2006	2 December 2010	4 years, 208 days	2006
30	Ted Baillieu	Liberal	Hawthorn	8 May 2006	2 December 2010	4 years, 208 days	2010	Brumby 2007–2010
31	Daniel Andrews	Labor	Mulgrave	3 December 2010	4 December 2014	4 years, 1 day	–	Baillieu 2010–2013
31	Daniel Andrews	Labor	Mulgrave	3 December 2010	4 December 2014	4 years, 1 day	2014	Napthine 2013–2014
32	Matthew Guy	Liberal	Bulleen	4 December 2014	6 December 2018	4 years, 2 days	2018	Andrews 2014–2023
33	Michael O'Brien	Liberal	Malvern	6 December 2018	7 September 2021	2 years, 275 days	–
(32)	Matthew Guy	Liberal	Bulleen	7 September 2021	8 December 2022	1 year, 92 days	2022
34	John Pesutto	Liberal	Hawthorn	8 December 2022	Incumbent	1 year, 355 days	–
34	John Pesutto	Liberal	Hawthorn	8 December 2022	Incumbent	1 year, 355 days	–	Allan 2023–

References

^ Victorian Parliament Chronology, Government of Victoria (Australia).
^ ^a ^b "VICTORIAN POLITICS". The Advertiser. Adelaide. 18 September 1913. p. 15. Retrieved 5 July 2011 – via National Library of Australia.
^ "VICTORIA'S NEW LABOUR LEADER". The North Western Advocate and the Emu Bay Times. TAS. 19 June 1918. p. 3. Retrieved 5 July 2011 – via National Library of Australia.
^ "VICTORIAN LABOR PARTY". The Advertiser. Adelaide. 15 April 1926. p. 16. Retrieved 5 July 2011 – via National Library of Australia.
^ "New Leader For Victorian Labour". The Canberra Times. 21 August 1957. p. 11. Retrieved 16 November 2014 – via National Library of Australia.
^ ^a ^b "The Sydney Morning Herald - Google News Archive Search".

[vicgov90s-1] Victorian Parliament Chronology, Government of Victoria (Australia).

[VICTORIAN_POLITICS-2] "VICTORIAN POLITICS". The Advertiser. Adelaide. 18 September 1913. p. 15. Retrieved 5 July 2011 – via National Library of Australia.

[3] "VICTORIA'S NEW LABOUR LEADER". The North Western Advocate and the Emu Bay Times. TAS. 19 June 1918. p. 3. Retrieved 5 July 2011 – via National Library of Australia.

[4] "VICTORIAN LABOR PARTY". The Advertiser. Adelaide. 15 April 1926. p. 16. Retrieved 5 July 2011 – via National Library of Australia.

[shepherd-5] "New Leader For Victorian Labour". The Canberra Times. 21 August 1957. p. 11. Retrieved 16 November 2014 – via National Library of Australia.

[news.google.com-6] "The Sydney Morning Herald - Google News Archive Search".

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Leader of the Opposition
Incumbent John Pesutto since 8 December 2022
Term length	While leader of the largest political party not in government
Inaugural holder	George Prendergast
Formation	1904
Deputy	Peter Walsh