Choosing the Power 500

Identifying the 500 people who wield the most power in WA is no mean feat.

But you might have heard that it’s a task Business News has undertaken this year, for the first time, with the release of a special publication for our subscribers scheduled to take place in early June.

And we haven’t taken our duty lightly.

To compile our list, we have tapped into Business News’s years of experience with data to determine the identities of those leaders our subscribers most often read about.

We’ve then overlaid that data with the expertise of our editorial staff, which is the most experienced reporting team covering business in Western Australia and accounts for a combined seven WA Journalist of the Year awards.

After months of refining the list, producing profiles of each of the 500 people on it and discussing the necessary changes that come when, for example, the premier reshuffles his cabinet, people pass away or retire, or leaders change jobs and leave the state, we’re almost ready to release our first Power 500 publication to the public.

And it’s not been without its challenges.

Our staff have come under extraordinary pressure from some corners to move people up or down the list, to add people to it and to take others off.

We’ve even been offered incentives by some who have had a vested interest in people being portrayed as more (or less) important than they really are.

Rest assured, Business News has been true to its Editorial Charter, selecting only those people our journalists believe hold the requisite amount of influence in this state to appear on our inaugural list.

That’s not to say that you won’t disagree with some of our choices.

Any list based on opinion is bound to be controversial. And just as choosing the best 22 players in the AFL for the All Australian team each year is followed by days of debate over whether the selectors got it right, we know we will cop some flak after narrowing more than two million Western Australians down to a list of just 500.

I’m sure we’ll miss someone who should be on the list. But that’s the beauty of a list like this; it gets people talking. It shines a light on those who have power and it highlights the efforts of some people who toil away for very little public recognition.

As a result, we make no apologies for our choices.

And we hope you find it a fascinating publication that removes the smoke and mirrors and reveals where power really rests in this great state.