Leader of The Opposition (South Australia)

Leader Of The Opposition (South Australia)

The Leader of the Opposition in South Australia is the leader of the largest minority political party or coalition of parties, known as the Opposition, in the House of Assembly of the Parliament of South Australia. By convention, he or she is generally a member of the House of Assembly. He or she acts as the public face of the opposition, and act as a chief critic of the government and ultimately attempt to portray the opposition as a feasible alternate government. They are also given certain additional rights under parliamentary standing orders, such as extended time limits for speeches. Should the opposition win an election, the Leader of the Opposition will be nominated to become the Premier of South Australia.

Prior to the 1890s when there was no formal party system in South Australia, MPs tended to have historical liberal or conservative beliefs. The liberals dominated government from 1893 to 1905 with Labor support, with the conservatives mostly in opposition. Labor took government with the support of eight dissident liberals in 1905 when Labor gained more seats than the liberals. The rise of Labor would see non-Labor politics start to merge into various party incarnations. The conservatives merged with the Liberal and Democratic Union (formed in 1906) to become the Liberal Union in 1910. Labor formed South Australia's first majority government after winning the 1910 state election, two weeks after federal Labor formed Australia's first majority government after winning the 1910 federal election. No "Country" or rural conservative parties emerged as serious long-term forces in South Australian state politics, often folding into the non-Labor

Since the resignation of Isobel Redmond in February 2013, the position is held by Steven Marshall, member for Norwood.