One way or another Rudd will get his revenge on those who robbed his manifest destiny. Either he will be returned to his rightful place or he will see the Labor Party that cast him off, cast into the wilderness. For a long time.

Four years ago, Colin Barnett was a political has-been on the verge of retirement. Today, he’s sitting pretty as premier of the nation’s most prosperous state, Western Australia.

Thanks to the Greens' position on asylum seekers and a high carbon price, Tony Abbott is set to cruise into government with a large margin and a mandate to repeal the carbon tax.

Julia Gillard and Tony Abbott are at war with each other, at war with the wishes of their own backbenchers and, one can only hope, at war with themselves. Until one of them blinks on the issue of asylum seekers, parliamentary point scoring will continue to trump human rights.

On Insiders yesterday, Bob Carr made some very careful statements on Julian Assange designed to give the government cover, but he made some highly dubious and simply false assertions.

Julian Assange's request for asylum in Ecuador has been strengthened by a letter from Greens Senator Scott Ludlam supporting his case that he has been effectively abandoned by the Australian government.

Time, popularity, history and a dearth of pythons: these are the reasons why Tony Abbott will backtrack on his blood oath to repeal the carbon tax if he ascends to the prime ministership.

Our top ten most powerful CEOs and Chairs are not a portrait of diversity. They're all men. They're all white. And - with the exception of Rupert Murdoch - they're all of a similar age.

The men and women at the top of the country's largest organisations can make decisions that affect an incredible number of people: employees, shareholders, customers and suppliers among them. They can also get the government of the day to pay attention. Here's our shortlist of the country's most powerful CEOs and Chairs.

Bill and Chloe Shorten dampen speculation about their marriage, a new code has been suggested for MPs behaving badly and The Star casino scandal (surprise, surprise) effects business.

Michael O'Connor isn't fazed that Paul Keating once called him a Labor rat who should be excommunicated from the ALP. In fact, the forestry industry firebrand wears it as a badge of pride.

Tomorrow, we start counting down the Top 10 most powerful Union Heavies. Here, Matthew Knott presents the shortlist.

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.

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.

More than any others, independents Rob Oakeshott and Tony Windsor hold the fate of the Gillard government and its legislative agenda in their hands.

Despite receiving over $100 million in government handouts, Max Yasuda has presided over plummeting sales and retrenched 350 workers at Altona, the company's biggest car manufacturing plant.

Political power in Canberra has become harder than ever to effectively use, so who's got the skills, popularity and support to wield it best? We're currently counting down the Top 10 most powerful and influential people in Canberra. Here, Bernard Keane presents the shortlist.

He's the states' rights champion who (unsuccessfully) challenged Kevin Rudd's stimulus package in the High Court. Now, legal academic and ex-National Party officer Bryan Pape is the man behind the latest bid to have the carbon tax deemed unconstitutional.

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.

Self-made billionaire and law school dropout Clive Palmer boasts that he's got a 68-0 success rate in court cases. Here's a look back at Palmer's most high-profile legal stoushes reveals he has a formidable, if not unblemished, record.