Each political party represented in the Federal Parliament elects leaders in each house.
Just as the government is decided in the House of Representatives, so the parties elect their leaders and deputy leaders from amongst their representatives in the House. If the party is not represented in the lower house, its leader will be chosen from amongst its members in the Senate.
| House of Representatives | ||
|---|---|---|
| Party | Leader | Deputy Leader |
| Australian Labor Party | Julia Gillard Member for Lalor (Vic) |
Wayne Swan Member for Lilley (Qld) |
| Liberal Party | Tony Abbott Member for Warringah (NSW) |
Julie Bishop Member for Curtin (WA) |
| National Party | Warren Truss Member for Wide Bay (Qld) |
Senator Nigel Scullion Northern Territory |
| Australian Greens | – | Adam Bandt Member for Melbourne (Vic) |
The major parties also elect leaders and deputy leaders in the Senate. These people form part of the leadership group and act as the focal point for their parties in the upper house.
For example, the current ALP leader in the Senate, Chris Evans, is referred to as the Government Leader in the Senate. Senator Eric Abetz is referred to as the Opposition Leader in the Senate.
| Senate | ||
|---|---|---|
| Party | Leader | Deputy Leader |
| Australian Labor Party | Senator Chris Evans (Western Australia) |
Senator Stephen Conroy (Victoria) |
| Liberal Party | Senator Eric Abetz (Tasmania) |
Senator George Brandis (Queensland) |
| National Party | Senator Barnaby Joyce (Queensland) |
Senator Fiona Nash (New South Wales) |
| Australian Greens | Senator Christine Milne (Tasmania) |
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|
Footnote: Convention dictates that the official leader of the main parties will be a member of the House of Representatives. In 1968, following the death of its Prime Minister, Harold Holt, the Liberal Party chose its upper house leader, Senator John Gorton, as the new prime minister. Gorton immediately resigned his Senate seat and contested the by-election for Holt’s lower house electorate, Higgins. Thus, Australia had a prime minister for several weeks who was not a member of either house. This is allowed for in Section 64 of the Constitution.
