Media policy statements from major party politicians should always be vetted against mogul-centrism, for that is their key purpose. Yesterday’s venture into media policy by Tony Abbott was no exception.

Conservative powerbroker Nick Minchin has berated the head of Channel Seven Adelaide for publicly backing a candidate contesting the Liberal Party senate seat vacated by Mary Jo Fisher.

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.

Evidence has emerged that disputes Foreign Minister Bob Carr's claim Julian Assange has received as much or more consular support in a comparable period than other Australians, and that anything further would amount to interference in another country's judicial process.

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.

If there's an engine room of political power in Australia, it's cabinet. And like most engine rooms, it's hidden out of sight, its operations little understood by the rest of us.

Rob Purves is using the fortune he made in nursing homes and railway locomotives to bankroll troops willing to fight the climate and mining wars.

You won't find Rupert Murdoch's niece Eve Kantor on the BRW Rich 200 or in Who's Who. But she and her husband, Mark Wootton, have given away at least $50 million in the last 15-20 years to protect Australia's environment.

Toby Ralph has no office, no job title and no qualms about spinning for the forces of darkness. Tobacco companies, the nuclear waste industry and banks wanting to kill off the four pillars policy are some of the flamboyant freelancer's controversial past clients.

John Howard's not going to let the car industry assistance debate stand in the way of his legacy. The former PM has hit back at claims his government left the car industry in limbo upon losing the 2007 election.

It's been a long weekend for Justice Geoffrey Giudice. One that may well have reminded him why, just last Thursday, he announced his intention to resign as president of Fair Work Australia.

The costs of car parking at major Australian airports, and the fees airports charge airlines per passenger, could be cut under a new proposal by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission.

Just when she thought it couldn't get any worse, legendary business powerbroker Don Argus has come along to give Julia Gillard a kick when she's down.

From High Court decisions and Chief Justice criticisms, to the ACCC chairman's bid to get tough and the opposition leader quietly setting in motion industrial relations reform: these are The Power Index's top picks of people who mattered this week.

Anti-pokies senator Nick Xenophon has bewailed Helen Coonan's decision to take up a lucrative position on the board of James Packer's Crown Casino.

Only five years ago Helen Coonan, who is expected to announce her retirement from politics today, was one of the most powerful women in Australia.