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.

For months federal Labor has been bouncing around in its corner, challenging the Coalition to come out and fight on the issue of industrial relations.

To be prime minister you must be able to run a cabinet. Kevin Rudd simply does not have that talent so governments under his prime ministership are chaotic affairs. That’s why he was sacked. Julia Gillard, on taking the prime ministership, did not spell that out -- and that mistake is still haunting her.

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.

In the rush to attack Julia Gillard for “lecturing” the world, some serious points have been missed by her critics. This “lecture” isn’t new and nor is the Prime Minister the only one delivering it.

James Packer certainly can't match his famous father for clout. But the war he's waging to build a second Sydney casino shows that he comes from the same powerful gene pool. And it proves the Packer name still rings loud with the nation's decision makers.

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.

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.

Joe Hockey looks set to have the toughest job in Australian politics come September next year. That's when, if current polls bear out over the next 18 months, he'll become Treasurer.

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

They call it 'being Adlerised': a phenomenon where the publisher of Melbourne University Publishing gets people to agree to do things that they hadn't planned on doing.

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.

Frank Lowy's not on Wayne Swan's billionaire hit list. Yet when it comes to foreign policy, this shopping king has more sway than the rest of Australia's mega-rich combined.

Ray Hadley celebrates 30 years in radio, Janet Albrechtsen dusts off The Latham Diaries, Alan Jones spruiks for his buddy James Packer.

It's 113 years since Simcha Baevski arrived in Melbourne as a near-penniless immigrant from Belarus. But this remarkable man is still changing the face of Australia, almost four decades after his death.

This week we begin profiling Australia's most influential Rich Crusaders, the people who use their cash to influence public debate and promote causes they believe in. Here, Paul Barry presents the shortlist.

Mark Textor is the most domineering, divisive pollster this country's ever seen – and the most powerful. Even his Labor adversaries admit no-one on their side of politics can match him.

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.

Ian Plimer is one of the most imperious purveyors of climate scepticism in the world. He's a prize-winning academic and bestselling author, meaning he's got the cultural capital and turn of phrase needed to put forward a compelling case.

Ted Baillieu's Victorian government looks set for a change of direction with the Premier's key advisor, Michael Kapel, leaving his chief-of-staff post to become the state's representative in San Francisco, and Commissioner to the Americas.