Featured
Morrison has been unseated by the premiers
The Prime Minister might run the nation and set policy, but it is the state premiers who wield the real power in the pandemic, managing every aspect of ordinary Australians’ lives.
- Updated
- Phillip Coorey
- Satire
- Power List
Eight of the PM’s most ‘powerful’ quotes
History is filled with examples of exceptional leaders. Only some were exceptional orators. Scott Morrison, without question, deserves to join their ranks.
- Updated
- James Schloeffel
The 10 most powerful people in Australia in 2021
This year, the combined might of four premiers has dislodged Scott Morrison from the top of the Power list.
- Tom McIlroy
- Opinion
- The AFR View
Premiers’ power must give way to positive federation change
The four premiers top the 2021 AFR Power list. But their power is peaking and it’s negative.
- The AFR View
Australia’s 10 most covertly powerful people in 2021
The pandemic and national intelligence have added new names to the list of those wielding the greatest influence behind the scenes.
- Tom McIlroy
This Month
The intriguing names left off the covert power list
A diverse and fascinating group of people wield power behind the scenes in the nation - these Australians didn’t make the list but still hold considerable influence.
- Matthew Drummond
September
The 10 most culturally powerful people in Australia in 2021
Heading the list is Grace Tame, who has been through hell, rebuilt herself in its wake and is now calling those who enabled that hell to account.
- Brook Turner
Australia’s top five power brokers in law for 2021
This year, for the first time, women occupied the nation’s two most senior positions in the law.
- Michael Pelly
Australia’s 10 most powerful business leaders in 2021
From the start of the pandemic, the corporate sector had kept calm and carried on. But this year its patience ran out.
- James Thomson
Australia’s five most powerful education leaders in 2021
Although the impact of COVID-19 on the teaching sector has been profound, the movement to online learning might be its most enduring legacy.
- Julie Hare
The queen of fortress Queensland
Sunshine State Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has won more elections than any other female politician in Australia ... and her power is still on the rise.
- Mark Ludlow
Australia’s top five property players in 2021
Amid the chaos, remarkable things happened: a rent war in malls, an online shopping boom, a work-from-home revolution and the game changer known as HomeBuilder.
- Nick Lenaghan
Australia’s top five technology leaders in 2021
A number of big deals in the past 12 months reflect the success of a wave of companies in Australia’s maturing tech sector, as Aussie tech leaders become significant global players.
- Paul Smith
Australia’s most powerful consultants in 2021
The AFR Magazine’s hotly anticipated annual Power issue includes lists of the key players across six different industry sectors. Here are this year’s most powerful people in consulting.
- Edmund Tadros
How ATAGI lost its anonymity and political innocence
Medicine and politics collided this year. For the first time, the two men running ATAGI’s response to COVID-19 talk about what happened.
- Jill Margo
- Exclusive
- Power List
Mathias Cormann at home in Paris after a whirlwind ride
Following a gruelling campaign, Australia’s former finance minister is now in charge of the OECD as it pushes towards a new world order for taxing big tech.
- Hans van Leeuwen
Australia’s top five deal makers in 2021
In a year when big contracts are flying around like confetti, winners and losers are quickly determined and some old names return to the Power list.
- Anthony Macdonald and Sarah Thompson
The fast-moving tech firms changing the game for fashion
As an industry driven by all things new, fashion is long overdue for digital disruption, insiders say. But technological innovation is helping it to change gear – and fast.
- Updated
- Lauren Sams
An easy fish schnitty to make at home (plus perfect boiled eggs)
Schnitzel, says chef Josh Niland, has an instant recognition factor. It’s something he uses to trick people into cooking and eating more seafood.
- Updated
- Jill Dupleix
August
- Exclusive
- Style
What Michael Kors wants you to wear post-pandemic
After 40 years in fashion, Michael Kors rarely stops to reflect on his success. He also believes fashion brands can’t be everything to everyone.
- Lauren Sams
Why Australians can’t get enough of booze-free drinks in the pandemic
High-end restaurants are responding to the insatiable demand for quality beverages with low or no alcohol, particularly now that they taste so much better.
- Max Allen
How Max Mara’s creative chief Trojan-horsed feminism into fashion
Ian Griffiths, who’s been at the innovative helm of the classic Italian brand for more than 30 years, brings a quiet radicalism to his work.
- Lauren Sams
- Opinion
- Style
Why we love the rock stars of fashion
Fashion and music go together like bread and butter: one can exist without the other, but the two are greatly enhanced by each other’s presence.
- Lauren Sams
How puzzles help this fashion designer see the bigger picture
Thanks to her family, Ginger & Smart co-founder Genevieve Smart discovered jigsaw puzzles during lockdown.
- Lauren Sams
The ASMR-inspired artwork you can see, hear and smell (but not touch)
Unveiled as part of the London Design Biennale, the Metronome installation is enhanced by a soundtrack based on autonomous sensory meridian response principles.
- Stephen Todd
