Pity Launa Inman doesn't surf. She's just taken on what's possibly one of the most difficult CEO jobs going around. Also, Liberal infighting and the latest on Sydney's long-awaited second airport.

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.

Support from Alan Jones, Barnaby Joyce and Michael Korger wasn't enough to save Tony Abbott's chief Senate whip, Helen Kroger, from being demoted on the Liberals' Victorian Senate ticket.

John Roskam is the whip smart and media savvy executive director of the Institute of Public Affairs, the loudest – and most right wing – think tank in the country.

Who are the intellectuals most influencing our public debate? Next week we're counting down the Top 10 Most Powerful Thinkers. Here, Tom Cowie presents the shortlist.

When it comes to wielding influence in the Liberal Party, Brian Loughnane and Peta Credlin put many well-known members of Tony Abbott's shadow cabinet to shame. The husband and wife are two of the opposition leader's most trusted advisers on strategy and policy, and both can take credit for the Libs' soaring popularity in the polls.

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.

Michael Kroger's imperial palace is no more, but at least the Liberal powerbroker's got half a million dollars to build a new empire from scratch.

We've called them megaphones, but we could have called them shit-stirrers, tub-thumpers or loudmouths. These are the people who rustle up controversy, spark debate and help set the tone of our national conversation.

Liberal Party grandee Michael Kroger has joined former party Treasurer Michael Yabsley in calling for a complete ban on political donations from business and developers.