Julia Gillard's first major speech of the year isn't just a test for the PM. It's also a big moment for her newly-imported communciations chief, former Tony Blair staffer John McTernan.

Those Rudd rumours are here again. And you can bet it's Kevin's mates spreading them. His leadership challenge will come in a matter of weeks, we're told. Maybe just after the ALP is wiped out in Queensland.

Fine eateries are popping up all over Perth to cater for the newly rich locals, and the blow-ins from the East visiting the city to talk business. But few can match the legendary status of Perugino.

It's safe to assume left-wing legal eagles Michael Lavarch and Larissa Behrendt wouldn't have made it onto Andrew Bolt's Christmas card list.

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.

Here's what Australia's most powerful Megapohones have been up to over the silly season.

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange spoke to The Power Index about the lack of assistance from the federal government over his prolonged overseas legal plight, as he prepares for his latest appeal against extradition in a London Supreme Court.

Constitutional reform is in the headlines again. This time it's not the Republic, but how to recognise Indigenous Australians in our founding document.

Over 70 well-known people – including Noam Chomsky, Andrew Denton and Malcolm Fraser – have signed an open letter to Kevin Rudd asking him to fight against any future moves to extradite WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange to the US.

Forget about 'the protester'. If we could wimp out and award our most powerful person of 2011 to a collective honouree, we'd opt for 'the pollster'.

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.

Prior to yesterday's cabinet reshuffle Julia Gillard must have been watching The Godfather and taking the advice of mafia boss Michael Corleone: 'keep your friends close and your enemies closer'.

There's nary a power player in Australia who hasn't passed through Aussies – the legendary cafe that lies deep inside Parliament House in Canberra.

Everybody loves a bit of schadenfreude, so here we present seven of the most memorable power fails of 2011. Think names like Thomson, Forrest and Overland.

Julia Gillard's speech to the ALP national conference has been widely panned as a flop – not only for her use of the phrase we are us, but the pointed omission of any reference to Kevin Rudd's achievements as Prime Minister. Meet five speechwriting gurus who would never have let her make this mistake.

Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd has sparked speculation he may be reconsidering his view on same-sex marriage after a show of support with Rainbow Labor activists at a drinks session on Saturday night.

Morry Schwartz is the power behind two big media hits of the last couple of years: David Marr's devastating Quarterly Essay on Kevin Rudd in 2008, which helped put the skids under the Prime Minister, and Robert Manne's scorching attack on bias at Rupert Murdoch's The Australian.

Industry leader Heather Ridout says Tony Abbott's plan to repeal the carbon tax would do more harm than good.

By sheer force of personality and bloody hard work, Heather Ridout has become the most influential business leader in Canberra. Politicians respect her, the media can't get enough of her and her fellow lobbyists talk about her as if she's a saint.

Simon Banks understands the Labor Party better than any other lobbyist. He's worked on five ALP federal election campaigns, was Kevin Rudd's chief of staff and helped broker the deal between the independents and the Gillard government.