The office of leader of the opposition in the house of representatives

Abstract

The structure, role, function and significance of the Opposition in political systems constructed on the so-called Westminster model has generally been a neglected area of study, both in Britain, where the term- 'His Majesty's Opposition' -has been current since the third decade of the nineteenth century, and in Australia, where opposition has been an accepted part of parliamentary government since its inception in the sixth decade of the nineteenth century. If the Opposition has been a neglected area of study it was not for want of early and perceptive guidance from a student of politics no less eminent than the celebrated Walter Bagehot who not only noted the existence of Opposition in the living constitution but also some of the ambiguities, ironies and subtleties of the institution which later writers on politics have for so long ignored. The English Constitution, Bagehot wrote, was the first to make 'criticism of administration as much a part of the policy as administration itself'. But, at the same time, he noted that the business of Opposition is far from straight-forward, for, although its task is to oppose the Government, it nevertheless must decide on what to oppose the Government: "The Opposition have the unrestricted selection of the point of attack, and they seldom choose a case in which the department, upon the surface of the matter, seems to be right."