 On 2 September, Higgins, the sole survivor of the Giles cabinet, became CLP leader and opposition leader, with Finocchiaro as his deputy.Finnochiaro faced the task of helping the CLP recover from one of the worst defeats of a sitting government at the state or territory level in Australia.The CLP was recognised as the Official Opposition after the Solicitor-General advised that the five independents could not realistically form an alternative government.