Scott Ludlam (born 10 January 1970) is an Australian politician and Greens member of the Australian Senate since July 2008, representing the state of Western Australia.

His Greens portfolios include: Broadband, Communications and Digital Economy; Housing; Nuclear; Mining (Western Australia); Transport, Infrastructure, Waste and Sustainable Cities.

Ludlam was born in Palmerston North, New Zealand where he lived with his grandparents and brother.

In 1978, at the age of eight, he moved to Perth, Western Australia.

After graduating with a BA in Design from Curtin University, Ludlam spent several years as a proprietor of a small graphic design business and was co-editor of the Western Australian Gaia Foundation Journal. He later undertook a degree in sustainability policy at Murdoch University.

At the 2001 state election, Ludlam was the unsuccessful second candidate on the Greens ticket for the upper house Mining & Pastoral region.

From 2001 to 2005, Ludlam worked for Greens state parliamentarian Robin Chapple.

Anthony John "Tony" Abbott (born 4 November 1957) is the Leader of the Opposition in the Australian House of Representatives and federal leader of the centre-right Liberal Party of Australia. Abbott has represented the seat of Warringah since the 1994 by-election.

Prior to entering the Australian Parliament, Abbott studied for a Bachelor of Economics and a Bachelor of Laws at Sydney University and for a Master of Arts as a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford University. He later trained as a seminarian and worked as a journalist, business manager, political advisor and Executive Director of Australians for Constitutional Monarchy. Abbott has also been an author, ultramarathon runner and member of the New South Wales Rural Fire Service.

Abbott served in the Howard Government as Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Employment, Education, Training and Youth Affairs from 1996-1998 and Minister for Employment Services from 1998-2001. He joined the Howard Cabinet in 2001 as Minister for Employment, Workplace Relations and Small Business. Following the 2001 Election, he took on the additional roles of Leader of the House of Representatives and Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for the Public Service. In 2003 he became Minister for Health and Ageing , retaining this position and his role as Leader of the House until the defeat of the Howard government at the 2007 federal election.

George Henry Brandis, SC (born 22 June 1957), Australian politician, has been a Liberal member of the Australian Senate representing Queensland since May 2000.

He was born in Sydney, but was raised in Brisbane, Queensland, where he now resides. He attended Villanova College and then the University of Queensland where he received a Bachelors degrees in Law and Arts (Politics), both with first class honours. Following his graduation he served as Associate to Justice Sheahan of the Queensland Supreme Court. He was then elected a Commonwealth Scholar and obtained a Bachelor in Civil Law from Magdalen College, University of Oxford, winning the Sir Rupert Cross Prize for Evidence.

Early in his career he was a Senior Tutor in jurisprudence at the University of Queensland.

He was called to the Queensland Bar in 1985 and quickly developed a large commercial practice with a particular emphasis on trade practices law. He appeared as junior counsel in the High Court of Australia in the important equity case Warman v Dwyer. He was also the junior barrister for the plaintiff in the long running Multigroup litigation in the Federal Court of Australia.

Andrew Harvey (born 1952) is an author, religious scholar and teacher of mystic traditions, known primarily for his popular nonfiction books on spiritual or mystical themes, beginning with his 1983 A Journey in Ladakh. He is the author of over 30 books, including, The Hope, A Guide to Sacred Activism, The Direct Path, the critically acclaimed Way of Passion: A Celebration of Rumi, The Return of the Mother and Son of Man. He was the subject of the 1993 BBC documentary "The Making of a Modern Mystic" He is the founder of the Sacred Activism movement and serves as the director of the Institute of Sacred Activism.

He lives in a rural area of the Ozark Mountains in Arkansas, where he continues to write when he is not lecturing. Harvey conducts workshops on Sacred Activism, the teachings of Rumi, yoga and practices that will lead to deeper spiritual awareness. Harvey travels with students to sacred sites in India, Australia and South Africa, and offers personal spiritual direction. Harvey was listed in the Watkins' Mind Body Spirit magazine as one of the 100 Most Spiritually Influential Living People in 2012. In 2012, he was nominated for the Templeton Prize, which was eventually awarded to the Dalai Lama.

Georgina "Gina" Hope Rinehart (born 9 February 1954) is an Australian businesswoman in the mining industry. She is the heiress of Hancock Prospecting and the daughter of the late mining magnate Lang Hancock and Hope Margaret Nicholas. In the 2010s, Rinehart diversified her business interests to include media organisations, becoming the largest shareholder in Fairfax Media and acquiring a significant stake in Ten Network Holdings. During 2011, both Forbes Asia and Business Review Weekly reported that Rinehart was Australia's wealthiest person. In May 2012 BRW named her as the world's richest woman, having surpassed Christy Walton.

Three of Rinehart's children and beneficiaries, Hope Rinehart Welker, John Hancock and Bianca Rinehart, have commenced^[when?] legal action in the New South Wales Supreme Court over Rinehart's (as sole trustee) alleged delay of the vesting date of the Hope Margaret Hancock Trust.

Rinehart was born at Perth, Western Australia, the daughter of Hope Margaret Nicholas and Lang Hancock. An only child, Rinehart lived with her parents at Nunyerry, 60 kilometres (37 mi) north of Wittenoom, until she was four, later boarding at St Hilda's Anglican School for Girls in Perth. She commenced studying economics at The University of Sydney and later worked for her father, gaining an extensive knowledge of the Pilbara iron-ore industry.