Victoria's state budget has been handed down, Julia Gillard looks for friends in the business world and all eyes on the Big Four.

When The Power Index spoke to New Ltd boss Kim Williams late last year, he told us that he's not backward in coming forward. We reckon he's lived up to his word today.

Nobody expected Barry O'Farrell, who swept to power a year ago Monday, to govern like Margaret Thatcher or Jeff Kennett. And he hasn't. O'Farrell's first year in office has been a largely ho-hum affair marked by neither great scandal nor great achievement.

Casino mogul and political donor James Packer has distanced himself from Bob Katter's much-maligned gay marriage ads.

Craig Thompson's decision to rush into print today and claim credit for Julia Gillard's abandonment of the mandatory pre-commitment poker machine scheme is a shocker for Labor on several levels.

If you're looking for power twosomes that have managed to spread their tentacles across both business and politics, then you needn't look much further than Kevin Rudd and Therese Rein. The former first couple have had their ups and downs over the past year or so but still remain one of our most influential duets.

Stephen Conroy is the most powerful Media Maestro in Australia, beating the Sun King, Rupert Murdoch, into second place. And here's why.

He still flies into Australia to sack his right-hand man, rip apart the front pages and terrify his editors, and they hang on every word, in case they should fail to catch a passing wish.

When does the country's most powerful Money Mover become not so powerful anymore? Why, when the Big Four banks decide to gang up on him of course.

Nick Greiner looks like he's still trying to live up to his mantle as Sydney's most powerful person, this time urging the implementation of a 'citizen's jury' to advise on infrastructure projects.

Janet Albrechtsen identifies with the plebs, guess who came to dinner at chez Bolt, and Tim Flannery gets one up on Ray Hadley. Here's what Australia's most powerful Megaphones have been up to over the past week.

Daily Tele readers are (allegedly) bigots, (some) 2GB callers are rednecks and Crikey is (largely) gossip. NSW Liberal Attorney-General Greg Smith certainly knows how to make friends in the media. So who's next on his hit list?

Suspended 2UE talkback host Michael Smith secretly recorded conversations with his boss, Graham Mott, on his iPhone last month, a Sydney court has heard.

Angry unionists, warring associations, powerful CEOs trying to defend their pay packets and the enthusiasm of one particular independent: this tax forum's got the makings of a day out at the circus. Pity the politicians looked a little uninterested.

Watch out Peter Garrett: another bald, outspoken rock star has his sights set on Parliament House. And he's determined to bring Julia Gillard's government – and her carbon tax – down.

News Limited columnist Andrew Bolt has struck back against a court judgement which found him guilty of breaching the Racial Discrimination Act, branding the finding an attack on free speech.

Journalism experts fear the Gillard government's media inquiry, which is expected not to examine bias or media ownership, is shaping up to be a missed opportunity and waste of time.

The 2UE afternoon host Michael Smith just missed out on The Power Index's top 10, but he's our No. 1 megaphone to watch.