Former News Limited press gallery heavy hitter Glen Milne has made a long-awaited return to the pages of The Australian, penning an op-ed about the supposed political reincarnation of Peter Costello.

Pity Launa Inman doesn't surf. She's just taken on what's possibly one of the most difficult CEO jobs going around. Also, Liberal infighting and the latest on Sydney's long-awaited second airport.

Budget night is the chance for tired journos, advisers and APS staffers to kick up their heals. Andrew Crook was there to document who made it and what they were drinking.

So whose lobbying power really struck this year’s federal budget? Below are some of The Power Index’s top people picks.

The Labor government’s lost the authority and audience to deliver a compelling, influential message – and has handed the ability to dictate the national debate to the Opposition in the process.

Bob Brown revels in an ABC swan song, Gina Rinehart teams up with an old foe and where are the influential women in theatre?

Most power players have oodles of charm and charisma, so it's no wonder they collect some unlikely allies on their way to the top. Here are six power partnerships that cross the ideological and generational divide.

ABC supremo Mark Scott will have been smiling over his cornflakes this morning after the national broadcaster was a surprise winner at last night's Logie awards.

Support from Alan Jones, Barnaby Joyce and Michael Korger wasn't enough to save Tony Abbott's chief Senate whip, Helen Kroger, from being demoted on the Liberals' Victorian Senate ticket.

Union boss Paul Howes, never one lacking chutzpah, has outdone himself today by launching a bold blueprint to save the manufacturing industry

It's the individuals we write about with the smallest media profile who cause the biggest stir, usually because their unique talents can be surprisingly productive.

When it comes to Australian music, there aren't many who match the make-you-or-break-you power of Richard Kingsmill.

Never mind his five-foot-five frame, Andrew Denton is a colossus in TV land. He's returning to our screens soon to host a new show but it's his work off camera that really counts.

Queensland's new premier is a very brave man who's not short of answers to the state's key problems. But Campbell Newman's got problems of his own, including LNP's key party donor, Clive Palmer.

This week we're beginning a new countdown looking at the most powerful people across Australia's vibrant arts and culture sphere. Here, Tom Cowie presents the shortlist.

We're not sure how Clive Palmer's going to manage his time if all the court battles he's vowed to pursue in recent months actually end up in court.

Internet entrepreneur Graeme Wood is not a billionaire. And he hasn't made it into Wayne Swan's terrible trio of greedy rich people who oppose the Gillard government. Yet. But he's doing his level best.

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has called on incoming foreign affairs minister Bob Carr to demand that Sweden promise not to extradite him to the US.

Penny Wong shines on the ABC's Kitchen Cabinet, Robert Manne lands in a legal stoush with The Australian and all the rest of the Follow The Power news.

Right-wing Melbourne talkback radio station MTR was put out of its misery on Friday after two years of disastrous ratings and financial results. So what have we learnt from the demise of the much hyped station?