Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has once again been named as Australia’s most powerful person on The Australian Financial Review Magazine’s Power List, which features no members of the federal opposition for the first time in 25 years.
While five members of Albanese’s government made the Overt Power list, Coalition leader Sussan Ley didn’t make the top 10 in the view of the Power panel. There is no one from the Coalition, Greens, Teals or crossbenchers on any of the three main Power lists; overt, covert and cultural.
“The power of Albanese in 2025 is as close to absolute as is feasible under Australia’s constitution,” said AFR Magazine editor Matthew Drummond. “In the view of several members of the Power panel, he’s the most powerful prime minister since John Howard. That said, there’s a brittleness beneath this power base with Labor’s share of the primary vote at record lows and wars in Ukraine and Gaza, and an unpredictable United States, destabilising the government.”
The gatefold cover of the magazine features the Prime Minister in the Government Party Room in Parliament House with all 28 newly elected Labor MPs and Senators, a visual depiction of the Labor’s landslide election win in May.
The Power List consists of three main categories – Overt, Covert and Cultural – which are debated at length by two separate panels of well-connected insiders drawn from Australia’s political, business and cultural spheres.
RBA governor Michele Bullock moved down to fifth place on the Overt List, Treasurer Jim Chalmers has moved to second, while ACTU National Secretary Sally McManus has moved up the list to fourth given the union movement’s influence on Labor. McManus is the most powerful non-government figure in Australia.
Commonwealth Bank CEO Matt Comyn is a new addition to the overt Power List – and the only business leader featured – taking out eighth position thanks to his visibility in Canberra. He was regarded by several panelists as the most persuasive voice of business.
The inclusion of Podcast Influencers at 10th place on the Overt List signifies generational change in how politicians reach younger audiences. The Prime Minister has this year appeared twice on the Happy Hour with Lucy & Nikki, whose hosts were photographed for the issue (and who shot to fame when Albanese agreed to their challenge to use the words “delulu with no solulu” in Parliament). The Power panel also discussed the influence of Abbie Chatfield, Konrad Benjamin, Jordan van den Lamb and the Betoota Advocate.
Labor Party National Secretary Paul Erickson tops the list of Covert power players for the first time, moving up from fifth place and replacing Labor powerbroker Don Farrell. With the superannuation sector owning almost half the ASX value, the man in charge of the country’s largest fund, AustralianSuper, Paul Schroder makes the covert power list for the first time.
Leading the Cultural Power list is the founder of RecipeTin Eats and cookbook phenomenon Nagi Maehashi, thanks to her budget-friendly recipes and mastery of what people are searching for on Google. She is followed by current world No.1 Formula One driver Oscar Piastri, with eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant, Nicole Kidman, Mecca founder Jo Horgan, Gout Gout, Peter V’landys, Dom Dolla, theatre director Kip Williams and artists Khaled Sabsabi & Michael Dagostino featured in the Top 10.
The issue also features a deep dive into the NSW electorate of Bradfield, a once safe blue-ribbon seat that is now held by a Teal independent, and an examination of how Australia came to be the first place in the world to force social media giants to set a minimum age of 16. The story includes interviews with key campaigners Michael ‘Wippa’ Wipfli, MP Anika Wells, and Inman Grant among others. Writer Sam Buckingham-Jones reveals the prime minister was initially unconvinced of the idea of a ban, but changed his mind in the midst of a powerful lobbying campaign by 36 Months, a group established to push for the change.
The Australian Financial Review Magazine Power Issue is available nationally on Friday, September 26 and on www.afr.com
OVERT LIST
- Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese
- Federal Treasurer, Jim Chalmers
- Foreign Minister, Penny Wong
- ACTU Secretary, Sally McManus
- Reserve Bank Governor, Michele Bullock
- Defence Minister, Richard Marles
- Health and Disability Minister, Mark Butler
- Commonwealth Bank CEO, Matt Comyn
- Western Australia Premier, Roger Cook
- The Podcast Influencers
COVERT LIST
- ALP National Secretary, Paul Erickson
- Trade and Tourism Minister, Don Farrell
- Finance Minister, Katy Gallagher
- Home Affairs Minister, Tony Burke
- Prime Minister’s Chief of Staff, Tim Gartrell
- Department of the PM and Cabinet, Steven Kennedy
- Chairman of the Future Fund, Greg Combet
- Policy Head, Prime Minister’s Office, Sam Trobe
- Chief Executive AustralianSuper, Paul Schroder
- Treasury Secretary, Jenny Wilkinson
CULTURAL LIST
- Founder of RecipeTin Eats, Nagi Maehashi
- Formula One Driver, Oscar Piastri
- eSafety Commissioner, Julie Inman Grant
- Actor and Producer, Nicole Kidman
- Artist and Curator, Khaled Sabsabi & Michael Dagostino
- Theatre Director, Kip Williams
- Founder of Mecca, Jo Horgan
- Music Producer & DJ, Dom Dolla
- CEO Racing NSW, Chairman of Australian Rugby League Commission, Peter V’landys
- Athlete, Gout Gout
Further information:
Caitlin Lynch
Senior Communications Manager
clynch@nine.com.au
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