People mistakenly – and certainly the right wing in the Liberal Party – say: ‘Oh, look, we’ve been dragged from this massive victory down to a slim majority’, but that’s not where Turnbull took over. He took over when the polling was a long, deep baseline of disaster heading towards the party. So to come from there to a slim majority, and a still difficult but at least more manageable Senate, is in itself a huge achievement.
– Amanda Vanstone
The potential to make a significant difference is vested in that position and in him over the next three years. I think he can do it. – Sandra Harding
I’m keen to see him use the power he has as Prime Minister to drive the agenda. It’s not going to be easy but this will be the real test of his power. – Dominique Fisher
He’s the Prime Minister. If you’re the Prime Minister you’re the most powerful person in Australia. – Ian Macfarlane
01
Photo: Louis Douvis
MEET THE 2016 POWER PANEL
Malcolm Turnbull
Prime Minister
2015 ranking: 1
Because: He occupies the most powerful office in the land. In Turnbull’s grasp is the opportunity to reshape Australia if his government can set a strong defining agenda this term and execute it. The risk to his power is that it will be severely weakened if the government just muddles through – and that possibility exists since it’s hamstrung by a one-seat majority in the lower house. Turnbull is intellectually strong but his political inexperience is showing, especially over control of his party. He needs to demonstrate that he is a prime minister who acts more than talks.
What the panel says: He took the prime ministership in the past 12 months and has won an election. That’s a fairly substantial expression of power. – Greg Combet
Turnbull won an election after inheriting a sure loss. He moderated the national political debate, moving the Liberals to the familiar centre ground. He’s been consistent and strong on Senate reform and has kept up the momentum on superannuation reform. He’s under constant sniping attack from his own party, yet is focusing on his goals with a remarkable balance and poise. – Gary Gray
Each year The Australian Financial Review Magazine assembles a panel of high achievers from across a diverse range of sectors to help it assess who has won, lost and retained power in Australia in the past 12 months. Meet this year’s panel.
Dominique Fisher Managing director of CareerLounge; non-executive director of Australia Post.
Gary Gray
Executive at Mineral Resources Ltd; former Labor resources and energy minister; former national secretary of the Australian Labor Party.
Sandra Harding
Vice-chancellor and president of James Cook University.
Greg Combet Company director in funds management and banking; former Labor industry and climate change minister; former ACTU secretary.
Ben Oquist
Executive director of The Australia Institute; former Greens chief of staff.
Tony Mitchelmore Managing director of Visibility Consulting; qualitative researcher and campaign strategist.
Katrina Sedgwick Chief executive officer of the Australian Centre for the Moving Image; former head of arts at
ABC TV.
Ian Macfarlane Chairman of the Innovative Manufacturing Cooperative Research Centre; former Coalition industry minister.
Nicola Wakefield Evans Non-executive director of Lendlease, Toll Holdings, Macquarie Group and Bupa Australia and New Zealand.
Amanda Vanstone Fairfax columnist and Radio National presenter; former Coalition immigration minister; former ambassador to Italy.
Michael Stutchbury Editor-in-chief of The Australian Financial Review.
THE 2016 POWER PANEL
Bill Shorten
02
Opposition Leader
2015 ranking: 8
He was more energetic in the campaign and was on the campaign trail longer. What Labor will do with Shorten now is they will position him as a statesman. He’s going to be quite strategic and one thing the campaign showed is that if somebody tells him what to do, he’ll do it, and that’s always a good sign for someone who wants to be PM – that they follow the advice of other people. – Ian Macfarlane
As Opposition Leader, he’s got so much to play with, to attack. He’s got a public who are disgruntled with their lot in life, and the lot of the country. He can tap that disgruntlement and keep tapping it, which leaves him in a powerful position.
– Tony Mitchelmore
While he lost the election, he won some of those policy debates on big company tax cuts, negative gearing and superannuation. – Ben Oquist
During the election campaign, he appeared to be adept at channelling where people were. He spoke to issues in a way that engaged with people. – Sandra Harding
Turnbull went to the election with a number of aspirational claims. Shorten’s counter to that was to keep it practical. – Dominique Fisher
Because: He has strongly positioned himself as the alternative prime minister. Through a slick election campaign, he dramatically turned around the perception that he struggles to connect with voters. He surprised and outperformed Turnbull, and took the gutsy step of setting out a strong policy agenda that defined Labor on issues such as negative gearing, superannuation and Medicare. The risk to his power with the electorate is if he gets cast as an obstructive opposition leader, becoming Tony Abbott-lite.
What the panel says: Labor laid out a larger policy agenda than the government did before and during the election. They have a mandate to continue to pursue things like changes to negative gearing. There are clearly tensions inside the government on superannuation so Shorten is in a strong position to prosecute a case for reform from the Opposition. He understands political power better than Turnbull. – Greg Combet
The difference between the two leaders is that Shorten gets people on the ground. He can walk into a crowd, he’s comfortable, he’s relaxed, talks their language and knows their issues.
Photo: Nic Walker
Barnaby Joyce
03
Deputy Prime Minister; Leader of the Nationals
2015 ranking: None
Because: He’s known for speaking his mind and will champion the interests of the Nationals even if they’re at odds with the Liberal Party. The one-seat majority the government has in Parliament gives the Nationals a greater bargaining position to shape policy within the Coalition – and they’re expected to use it.
What the panel says: He’s going to have almost as much power as Turnbull. Wherever he doesn’t agree with Liberal Party policy he will stand up and say it. He will drive not out of aggression but out of sheer determination in his fundamental belief that the National Party, and particularly farmers, are the salt of the earth and Australia cannot manage without them. Turnbull will need to be very adept to handle that. – Ian Macfarlane
When the Nationals have Pauline Hanson nipping at their heels, someone like Joyce is who they’re going to want to have. He’s certainly in a very influential position in this Parliament. – Greg Combet
In focus groups he’s seen as divisive and a bit polarising and the question is whether that rubs off in a bad way on Turnbull.
– Tony Mitchelmore
Mike Baird
04
Premier of New South Wales
2015 ranking: 2
Because: He’s the Premier of Australia’s largest state, which is currently the nation’s economic powerhouse, and from that flows influence. He is viewed nationally as a reforming politician and this contrasts starkly with the dysfunctional nature of federal politics where the perception, rightly or wrongly, is that little has been achieved. The reform driven by Baird includes some of the nation’s biggest infrastructure spends. He has made tough, unpopular decisions such as the introduction of pub and bar lock-out laws and the banning of greyhound racing. These haven’t helped his popularity, with a recent poll suggesting Opposition Leader Luke Foley would make a better premier.
What the panel says: He’s a reforming premier. His government is getting on with one of the largest revitalisations of transport infrastructure in NSW that I can remember, and that public investment in new infrastructure helps drive jobs, productivity and economic activity. – Greg Combet
Photo: James Brickwood
In a world of dysfunctional politics Mike has cracked the code. He’s got voters to approve of privatisation. He’s using the proceeds from that to reshape the international city of Australia. And he’s using some of the political capital generated from that to deal with areas such as banning greyhound racing. – Michael Stutchbury
It’s easy to believe that he simply wants the best for his state and is prepared to consult but also to make the hard decisions when he feels they need to be made – right, wrong or indifferent, as might be revealed in the fullness of time. His power is also helped by his self-deprecating humour, groundedness and humanity. – Sandra Harding
He’s respected and is in a relatively strong position because he’s seen to be doing things in a landscape where not many politicians are. – Tony Mitchelmore
Glenn Stevens/Philip Lowe
/the regulators
Glenn Stevens
05
What the panel says: In the vacuum of not much happening reform-wise federally, what the Reserve Bank and other regulators do is massively important. – Tony Mitchelmore
As politics remains dysfunctional, the regulators have filled some of the vacuum. Stevens in cahoots with Wayne Byres, the APRA boss, have been able to cut interest rates so low while pulling back investors in the housing market much more effectively than I thought they would be able to. So far they’ve kept the show on the road through an extraordinary housing phase. Chris Jordan has been quite a different tax commissioner. He’s taken up and led the official response on making multinationals pay their fair share of tax. He’s quite effective at that. Australian Securities and Investments Commission chairman Greg Medcraft is the Labor-appointed corporate cop the government wanted to get rid of. Instead, they’ve been forced by the anti-business and anti-bank mood to give ASIC more money. ACCC chairman Rod Sims also has been extended after being appointed by Labor. – Michael Stutchbury
They are making more decisions that have an economic impact, which is not what regulators have done historically. – Nicola Wakefield Evans
Former and current governors of the Reserve Bank of Australia
2015 ranking: 7
Because: In a post-Global Financial Crisis world the role of the regulators has grown internationally as they help stabilise and restore growth to flagging developed economies and keep a check on the global banking system. Closer to home, a decade of little significant policy reform nationally has also created an environment in which the regulators – among them the Reserve Bank of Australia, the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority and the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission – have been strengthened.
Because: He controls the levers to the economy. However, the jury remains out on how well he’s managing one of the most important ministerial portfolios. He’s struggled to get to grips with his role, his third in as many years. He must master his brief to influence his department, and cement a good working relationship with the prime minister. His power will be demonstrated if the government is able to rein in spending and debt and keep the economy growing at a solid rate.
What the panel says: He’s new to the portfolio and you expect it will take him some time to get on top of it. I’ve also heard that the relationship between Turnbull and Morrison is pretty poor. – Greg Combet
The proposed superannuation changes are long overdue and are one of the biggest and best changes to be made in Australia. It has only come about because the relationship between Turnbull and Morrison is obviously strong on that issue. – Amanda Vanstone
He’s played the key role in pushing the crackdown on top-end super tax breaks and he’s done that against the interests of the Liberal heartland. – Michael Stutchbury
Scott Morrison
06
Federal Treasurer
2015 ranking: 6
Nick Xenophon
2015 ranking: 5
Because: If the government can’t win bipartisan support for its policies from Labor in the Senate then it will be forced to negotiate with those who hold the balance of power, namely the Greens, One Nation, the Nick Xenophon Team and other independents. These smaller parties will try to use their power to gain concessions that work for them.
What the panel says: It’s about who can more cleverly play the Senate. Xenophon managed to work quite well last time and now that he has more numbers I wouldn’t see a reason why he wouldn’t be working that very well. The extent to which Pauline Hanson actually manages to prosecute an agenda is another question entirely.
– Sandra Harding
It’s clear that Turnbull went in with the whole double dissolution strategy thinking that compared with the previous Senate, ‘I can do better dealing with Xenophon and the Greens’. There’s a bit more Hanson than may have been anticipated and clearly Xenophon would have to be, as a long-term force, questionable, but for the next few years he is in a very pivotal position.
– Michael Stutchbury
The Senate crossbench
Xenophon has the potential to build something significant nationally from what had previously been a one-man show. I think the Senate strategy hasn’t worked out for Turnbull because it actually plays more in favour of Labor and the Greens. Turnbull has to get not just the support of Xenophon and Hanson but another two or three senators on top of that, and that’s very complicated. And One Nation might be a difficult cat to muster. It means the Greens and Labor are in an enhanced position with their power in the Senate. – Ben Oquist
07
Michael O’Connor
and the unions
Michael O’Connor
08
National secretary of the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union
2015 ranking: 5 on covert list
Because: The unions are a significant force within Labor. They spent millions and deployed thousands of members to campaign for Labor in dozens of marginal seats during the federal election campaign.
What the panel says: O’Connor’s the only coherent faction leader with a national base across the entire Labor Party, state and federal. Thus the influence of his union, as expressed through him and by him, is profound. – Gary Gray
He’s been seen as a sensible union leader and to the extent you can find someone at the pinnacle with a capacity to generate some confidence, even among those who wouldn’t be natural allies, that’s a very powerful position to be in. – Sandra Harding
They’re powerful within the Labor Party, where they wield enormous financial clout.
– Ian Macfarlane
Because: She wields power as the Liberal Party deputy leader and is in the Prime Minister’s inner circle. Bishop remains enormously popular with voters and her campaigning across Western Australia during the election was seen as important in helping the Coalition retain seats.
What the panel says: She is incredibly popular in the electorate and in Parliament and behaves impeccably. She’s had some huge issues to deal with on the foreign relations and international security front. If you read the press and some of the books that have been published about Tony Abbott and former chief of staff Peta Credlin, Bishop was treated poorly, but you wouldn’t have known it from her public persona. She has handled the shift in the power bases of the Liberal Party really well.
– Nicola Wakefield Evans
Julie Bishop is a very good campaigner because she is a people person. She has an incredible network around her and she uses it. – Ian Macfarlane
Julie Bishop
09
Minister for Foreign Affairs;
Deputy leader of the Liberal Party 2015 ranking: 3
She’s the dominant politician in Western Australia in terms of delivering parliamentarians. Out of the 16 West Australian seats, 11 of them are Liberal-held seats. – Gary Gray
The backbenchers love her. She has delivered for them all over the place. – Ben Oquist
10
Shadow treasurer
2015 ranking: None
Because: He’s distinguished himself by being one of the key architects and drivers of Labor’s ambitious and progressive policy agenda, which played well in the 2016 election and is arguably setting the national debate.
What the panel says: He pushed negative gearing in particular and formulated the super policy. – Greg Combet
He seems to be a real thinker and very strong and, therefore, has significant influence. – Amanda Vanstone
He’s the ideas man. He’s seen as a serious policy thinker within the Labor Party. He really pushed on the negative gearing issue and that was quite brave. If he’s established that position for himself within that party, and they were within a whisker of being in government, that’s got to bode well for his potential power.
– Tony Mitchelmore
He’s using his intellectual grunt and bringing it to policy development. It’s what the business community respects even if they don’t agree with everything he says.
– Dominique Fisher
Chris Bowen
Because: He holds a portfolio which will be important to economic growth, with the multi-billion dollar spend on submarines and ship building that’s planned. Pyne is also the minister responsible for the management of government business, setting in what order issues are to be dealt with, and how to respond to impediments. He was embarrassed in early September when the absence of three ministers from the floor meant the government lost some procedural votes in the lower house.
What the panel says: He’s often underestimated. He is highly effective behind the scenes. Too many people are quick to judge him as being a lightweight, when he really does understand numbers and power, and what it takes to get things over the line. It’s why he is where he is.
– Dominique Fisher
The submarines might not be being built in Australia but for Chris Pyne. That’s a fairly influential exercise of power. And he wants to ensure we get the spin-off that can come from it. – Amanda Vanstone
Christopher Pyne
11
Minister for Defence Industry
2015 ranking: None
12
Business and social change leader
2015 ranking: None
Because: As Sex Discrimination Commissioner for almost a decade through to September 2015, she changed the debate on gender equality, including through the Male Champions of Change program she initiated with Australia’s business leaders. Broderick now works as a consultant and has taken her skills to the global stage, where she co-chairs the United Nations Women’s Empowerment Principles Leadership Group.
What the panel says: She has the ear of big business and government. She has effected huge change in a short amount of time around issues that impact women, not only on the business side but also her work on domestic violence.
– Nicola Wakefield Evans
What she’s doing has focused on sexual harassment and sexual assault in a variety of important locations: the military, the workplace generally, and now working with Universities Australia. She’s encouraging major sectors to step up and really confront these issues.
– Sandra Harding
In so many different sectors – across politics, military, academia and business – she has just been a very effective operator and, on top of that, a very effective communicator. – Ben Oquist
Elizabeth Broderick
Diane Smith-Gander
13
Former chairman of Broadspectrum; President of Chief Executive Women
2015 ranking: None
Because: As a business leader she’s held challenging and high-profile roles on public boards, such as Broadspectrum – which manages the Manus Island and Nauru detention centres – and as president of Chief Executive Women. In such roles she withstood criticism and continued to communicate and prosecute her position strongly.
What the panel says: Broadspectrum was attacked for its role in the asylum seeker business. The way in which she was able to withstand those attacks as the chairman of that board was a particular display of strength at a time when most chairs of most boards wouldn’t have even tried to address the issues. She stood up for shareholders against destructive activism and in so doing protected Broadspectrum shareholder value. She had courage and projected her leadership qualities.
– Gary Gray
In her role as president of Chief Executive Women she’s been articulate around policies that make sense, like female workforce participation, childcare and financial equality. She’s also very effectively prosecuted the argument that we need more women leaders in business and government. – Nicola Wakefield Evans
Because: He became the AMA president in May and immediately reset how the doctor’s union worked with the government – shifting it from a combative to a constructive position. He performed strongly throughout the federal election campaign and intervened to criticise both parties on their positions around Medicare.
What the panel says: He demonstrated during the election that he wants to find things that will work. He’s not here to skin you but he’s not a patsy either. It puts the AMA in a good negotiating position to have the government’s ear and he’s done it pretty well. – Amanda Vanstone
Health is a big issue for everyone. The AMA has a strong brand and has always had the potential power that comes with being “brand doctor” and their standing in the community. Now they are actually using it. – Tony Mitchelmore
Michael Gannon
14
President of the Australian Medical Association
2015 ranking: None
Because: The decisions that Coles and Woolworths make affect the lives and hip pockets of Australians daily. They are also some of the country’s biggest employers, both directly and indirectly through supply chains, and their behaviour has an impact on the economy.
Brad Banducci and John Durkan
What the panel says: Coles and Woolies determine Australians’ living standards – not even just partly, quite significantly. Those two entities and the people running them are enormously powerful through their market dominance. – Greg Combet
The reach of Coles and Woolies goes beyond supermarkets into gambling and liquor. Their tentacles reach right out into everyday Australia. – Tony Mitchelmore
15
Managing director of Woolworths and Coles respectively
2015 ranking: None
Because: He occupies the most powerful office in the land. In Turnbull’s grasp is the opportunity to reshape Australia if his government can set a strong defining agenda this term and execute it. The risk to his power is that it will be severely weakened if the government just muddles through – and that possibility exists since it’s hamstrung by a one-seat majority in the lower house. Turnbull is intellectually strong but his political inexperience is showing, especially over control of his party. He needs to demonstrate that he is a prime minister who acts more than talks.
What the panel says: He took the prime ministership in the past 12 months and has won an election. That’s a fairly substantial expression of power. – Greg Combet
Turnbull won an election after inheriting a sure loss. He moderated the national political debate, moving the Liberals to the familiar centre ground. He’s been consistent and strong on Senate reform and has kept up the momentum on superannuation reform. He’s under constant sniping attack from his own party, yet is focusing on his goals with a remarkable balance and poise. – Gary Gray
People mistakenly – and certainly the right wing in the Liberal Party – say: ‘Oh, look, we’ve been dragged from this massive victory down to a slim majority’, but that’s not where Turnbull took over. He took over when the polling was a long, deep baseline of disaster heading towards the party. So to come from there to a slim majority, and a still difficult but at least more manageable Senate, is in itself a huge achievement. – Amanda Vanstone
The potential to make a significant difference is vested in that position and in him over the next three years. I think he can do it.
– Sandra Harding
I’m keen to see him use the power he has as Prime Minister to drive the agenda. It’s not going to be easy but this will be the real test of his power. – Dominique Fisher
He’s the Prime Minister. If you’re the Prime Minister you’re the most powerful person in Australia. – Ian Macfarlane
Meet the 2016 Power Panel
Because: He has strongly positioned himself as the alternative prime minister. Through a slick election campaign, he dramatically turned around the perception that he struggles to connect with voters. He surprised and outperformed Turnbull, and took the gutsy step of setting out a strong policy agenda that defined Labor on issues such as negative gearing, superannuation and Medicare. The risk to his power with the electorate is if he gets cast as an obstructive opposition leader, becoming Tony Abbott-lite.
What the panel says: Labor laid out a larger policy agenda than the government did before and during the election. They have a mandate to continue to pursue things like changes to negative gearing. There are clearly tensions inside the government on superannuation so Shorten is in a strong position to prosecute a case for reform from the Opposition. He understands political power better than Turnbull. – Greg Combet
The difference between the two leaders is that Shorten gets people on the ground. He can walk into a crowd, he’s comfortable, he’s relaxed, talks their language and knows their issues. He was more energetic in the campaign and was on the campaign trail longer. What Labor will do with Shorten now is they will position him as a statesman. He’s going to be quite strategic and one thing the campaign showed is that if somebody tells him what to do, he’ll do it, and that’s always a good sign for someone who wants to be PM – that they follow the advice of other people.
– Ian Macfarlane
As Opposition Leader, he’s got so much to play with, to attack. He’s got a public who are disgruntled with their lot in life, and the lot of the country. He can tap that disgruntlement and keep tapping it, which leaves him in a powerful position. – Tony Mitchelmore
While he lost the election, he won some of those policy debates on big company tax cuts, negative gearing and superannuation.
– Ben Oquist
During the election campaign, he appeared to be adept at channelling where people were. He spoke to issues in a way that engaged with people. – Sandra Harding
Turnbull went to the election with a number of aspirational claims. Shorten’s counter to that was to keep it practical. – Dominique Fisher
Because: He’s the Premier of Australia’s largest state, which is currently the nation’s economic powerhouse, and from that flows influence. He is viewed nationally as a reforming politician and this contrasts starkly with the dysfunctional nature of federal politics where the perception, rightly or wrongly, is that little has been achieved. The reform driven by Baird includes some of the nation’s biggest infrastructure spends. He has made tough, unpopular decisions such as the introduction of pub and bar lock-out laws and the banning of greyhound racing. These haven’t helped his popularity, with a recent poll suggesting Opposition Leader Luke Foley would make a better premier.
What the panel says: He’s a reforming premier. His government is getting on with one of the largest revitalisations of transport infrastructure in NSW that I can remember, and that public investment in new infrastructure helps drive jobs, productivity and economic activity. – Greg Combet
In a world of dysfunctional politics Mike has cracked the code. He’s got voters to approve of privatisation. He’s using the proceeds from that to reshape the international city of Australia. And he’s using some of the political capital generated from that to deal with areas such as banning greyhound racing. – Michael Stutchbury
It’s easy to believe that he simply wants the best for his state and is prepared to consult but also to make the hard decisions when he feels they need to be made – right, wrong or indifferent, as might be revealed in the fullness of time. His power is also helped by his self-deprecating humour, groundedness and humanity. – Sandra Harding
He’s respected and is in a relatively strong position because he’s seen to be doing things in a landscape where not many politicians are. – Tony Mitchelmore
Because: In a post-Global Financial Crisis world the role of the regulators has grown internationally as they help stabilise and restore growth to flagging developed economies and keep a check on the global banking system. Closer to home, a decade of little significant policy reform nationally has also created an environment in which the regulators – among them the Reserve Bank of Australia, the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority and the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission – have been strengthened.
What the panel says: In the vacuum of not much happening reform-wise federally, what the Reserve Bank and other regulators do is massively important. – Tony Mitchelmore
As politics remains dysfunctional, the regulators have filled some of the vacuum. Stevens in cahoots with Wayne Byres, the APRA boss, have been able to cut interest rates so low while pulling back investors in the housing market much more effectively than I thought they would be able to. So far they’ve kept the show on the road through an extraordinary housing phase. Chris Jordan has been quite a different tax commissioner. He’s taken up and led the official response on making multinationals pay their fair share of tax. He’s quite effective at that. Australian Securities and Investments Commission chairman Greg Medcraft is the Labor-appointed corporate cop the government wanted to get rid of. Instead, they’ve been forced by the anti-business and anti-bank mood to give ASIC more money. ACCC chairman Rod Sims also has been extended after being appointed by Labor.
– Michael Stutchbury
They are making more decisions that have an economic impact, which is not what regulators have done historically. – Nicola Wakefield Evans
Because: If the government can’t win bipartisan support for its policies from Labor in the Senate then it will be forced to negotiate with those who hold the balance of power, namely the Greens, One Nation, the Nick Xenophon Team and other independents. These smaller parties will try to use their power to gain concessions that work for them.
What the panel says: It’s about who can more cleverly play the Senate. Xenophon managed to work quite well last time and now that he has more numbers I wouldn’t see a reason why he wouldn’t be working that very well. The extent to which Pauline Hanson actually manages to prosecute an agenda is another question entirely.
– Sandra Harding
It’s clear that Turnbull went in with the whole double dissolution strategy thinking that compared with the previous Senate, ‘I can do better dealing with Xenophon and the Greens’. There’s a bit more Hanson than may have been anticipated and clearly Xenophon would have to be, as a long-term force, questionable, but for the next few years he is in a very pivotal position.
– Michael Stutchbury
Xenophon has the potential to build something significant nationally from what had previously been a one-man show. I think the Senate strategy hasn’t worked out for Turnbull because it actually plays more in favour of Labor and the Greens. Turnbull has to get not just the support of Xenophon and Hanson but another two or three senators on top of that, and that’s very complicated. And One Nation might be a difficult cat to muster. It means the Greens and Labor are in an enhanced position with their power in the Senate. – Ben Oquist
Because: The unions are a significant force within Labor. They spent millions and deployed thousands of members to campaign for Labor in dozens of marginal seats during the federal election campaign.
What the panel says: O’Connor’s the only coherent faction leader with a national base across the entire Labor Party, state and federal. Thus the influence of his union, as expressed through him and by him, is profound. – Gary Gray
He’s been seen as a sensible union leader and to the extent you can find someone at the pinnacle with a capacity to generate some confidence, even among those who wouldn’t be natural allies, that’s a very powerful position to be in. – Sandra Harding
They’re powerful within the Labor Party, where they wield enormous financial clout.
– Ian Macfarlane
Minister for Foreign Affairs;
Deputy leader of the Liberal Party
2015 ranking: 3
Because: She wields power as the Liberal Party deputy leader and is in the Prime Minister’s inner circle. Bishop remains enormously popular with voters and her campaigning across Western Australia during the election was seen as important in helping the Coalition retain seats.
What the panel says: She is incredibly popular in the electorate and in Parliament and behaves impeccably. She’s had some huge issues to deal with on the foreign relations and international security front. If you read the press and some of the books that have been published about Tony Abbott and former chief of staff Peta Credlin, Bishop was treated poorly, but you wouldn’t have known it from her public persona. She has handled the shift in the power bases of the Liberal Party really well.
– Nicola Wakefield Evans
Julie Bishop is a very good campaigner because she is a people person. She has an incredible network around her and she uses it. – Ian Macfarlane
She’s the dominant politician in Western Australia in terms of delivering parliamentarians. Out of the 16 West Australian seats, 11 of them are Liberal-held seats. – Gary Gray
The backbenchers love her. She has delivered for them all over the place. – Ben Oquist
Because: He holds a portfolio which will be important to economic growth, with the multi-billion dollar spend on submarines and ship building that’s planned. Pyne is also the minister responsible for the management of government business, setting in what order issues are to be dealt with, and how to respond to impediments. He was embarrassed in early September when the absence of three ministers from the floor meant the government lost some procedural votes in the lower house.
What the panel says: He’s often underestimated. He is highly effective behind the scenes. Too many people are quick to judge him as being a lightweight, when he really does understand numbers and power, and what it takes to get things over the line. It’s why he is where he is. – Dominique Fisher
The submarines might not be being built in Australia but for Chris Pyne. That’s a fairly influential exercise of power. And he wants to ensure we get the spin-off that can come from it. – Amanda Vanstone
Because: As Sex Discrimination Commissioner for almost a decade through to September 2015, she changed the debate on gender equality, including through the Male Champions of Change program she initiated with Australia’s business leaders. Broderick now works as a consultant and has taken her skills to the global stage, where she co-chairs the United Nations Women’s Empowerment Principles Leadership Group.
What the panel says: She has the ear of big business and government. She has effected huge change in a short amount of time around issues that impact women, not only on the business side but also her work on domestic violence. – Nicola Wakefield Evans
What she’s doing has focused on sexual harassment and sexual assault in a variety of important locations: the military, the workplace generally, and now working with Universities Australia. She’s encouraging major sectors to step up and really confront these issues.
– Sandra Harding
In so many different sectors – across politics, military, academia and business – she has just been a very effective operator and, on top of that, a very effective communicator. – Ben Oquist
Because: He became the AMA president in May and immediately reset how the doctor’s union worked with the government – shifting it from a combative to a constructive position. He performed strongly throughout the federal election campaign and intervened to criticise both parties on their positions around Medicare.
What the panel says: He demonstrated during the election that he wants to find things that will work. He’s not here to skin you but he’s not a patsy either. It puts the AMA in a good negotiating position to have the government’s ear and he’s done it pretty well.
– Amanda Vanstone
Health is a big issue for everyone. The AMA has a strong brand and has always had the potential power that comes with being “brand doctor” and their standing in the community. Now they are actually using it.
– Tony Mitchelmore
Because: The decisions that Coles and Woolworths make affect the lives and hip pockets of Australians daily. They are also some of the country’s biggest employers, both directly and indirectly through supply chains, and their behaviour has an impact on the economy.
What the panel says: Coles and Woolies determine Australians’ living standards – not even just partly, quite significantly. Those two entities and the people running them are enormously powerful through their market dominance. – Greg Combet
The reach of Coles and Woolies goes beyond supermarkets into gambling and liquor. Their tentacles reach right out into everyday Australia. – Tony Mitchelmore
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9. Gary Gray Executive at Mineral Resources Ltd; Former Labor resources and energy minister; former national secretary of the Australian Labor Party.
10. Greg Combet Company director in funds management and banking; former Labor industry and climate change minister; former ACTU secretary.
11. Tony Mitchelmore Managing director of Visibility Consulting; qualitative researcher and campaign strategist.
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1. Michael Stutchbury Editor-in-chief of The Australian Financial Review.
2. Sandra Harding
Vice-chancellor and president of James Cook University.
3. Dominique Fisher Managing director of CareerLounge; non-executive director of Australia Post.
4. Ben Oquist
Executive director of The Australia Institute; former Greens chief of staff .
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5. Katrina Sedgwick Chief executive officer of the Australian Centre for the Moving Image; former head of arts at ABC TV.
6. Ian Macfarlane Chairman of the Innovative Manufacturing Cooperative Research Centre; former Coalition industry minister.
7. Nicola Wakefield Evans Non-executive director of Lendlease, Toll Holdings, Macquarie Group and Bupa Australia and New Zealand.
8. Amanda Vanstone Fairfax columnist and Radio National presenter; former Coalition immigration minister; former ambassador to Italy.
The 2016 Power Panel
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Australian Financial Review Interactive infographic
Interactive infographic by Les Hewitt