The 2005 Power List
Introduction to the Listener's 2005 Power List.
by Tim Watkin
The Listener’s list of the most powerful people in the country contains some new names and undermines plenty of popular assumptions.
If you want to be powerful in New Zealand – really powerful – it helps to be a Pakeha male in your fifties. And to wear glasses, at least some of the time. And, perhaps, to be an immigrant.
Those are some of the most obvious features of this, the Listener’s second annual list of the 50 most powerful New Zealanders in New Zealand. It’s not a trivial or voyeuristic exercise; it’s a considered look at a vital question – who are the people who are shaping our lives, setting the trends, charting the course for the country’s future? Who are the kings and queens on our chessboard? It’s a question that matters, because unless we know who the powerbrokers are, how do we hold them to account?
To identify the powerful, we assemble a panel (introduced below) of people who know about power – either from having had it themselves or by observing it at close quarters for many years.
First, we define what power is: “The ability to influence and shape the lives, lifestyles and values of New Zealanders this year.” People on our list, as a way of setting some boundaries and keeping it indigenous, must be New Zealanders living predominantly in New Zealand.
We ask and talk and draw up a long list of contenders. Who has the final say? Who leads? Would everyone take this person’s call? Then we bring the panel together to argue and score the final 50 on their power in four categories: politics; business; media/public (including their profile and ability to lead opinion); and culture (including sport and arts, ethnic communities and science). Out of that come the final rankings.
The result is sure to provoke debate. Some of the names will be very familiar to you; some will be unknown. Some are on their way up; some are sliding.
This year’s list does undermine the idea of political correctness – that minority concerns are running the country. Nine on the list are Maori -– one down from last year. At 18 percent that’s higher than their proportion of the population, but not by much. Just two are from the Pacific. There are two women in the top 10 this year – last year PM Helen Clark was the only one. But overall the number of women on the list falls from 10 to seven. The trend, it seems, is more one of backlash. Older, Pakeha males remain power’s closest friends.
It’s interesting to note that the number of the 50 born overseas runs well into double figures. Most are from the UK. A handful of others are first-generation Kiwis.
The rise of business is notable this year – perhaps unsurprising in what have been such prosperous times. Both government and households have been spending, and the good times have put business on the front foot. Graeme Hart raced up the list in the second half of the year with two billion-dollar deals that have huge implications.
Where last year eight of the top 10 were (more or less) in the public sector, this year that falls to six. Last year 26 of the 50 were from the private sector; that edges up to 27 this year, even allowing for that fact that it was an election year and three of the newcomers were MPs.
The election, of course, was the big power event of the year, and it seemed with the return of the centre-right vote to National that power was again being consolidated in fewer hands. The post-election negotiations, however, suggested the opposite. Power is spread across the spectrum. Clark, for example, is not the dominant figure she has been.
A fragmentation of power could be seen in several sectors, most notably the media. Post-Paul Holmes, media companies and their stars are still jockeying for position. We picked John Campbell and Murray Deaker as the two who have established authority in their respective areas and with their sizeable audiences.
Sport, of course, is still strong in the life of this country; the arts less so. Science, noted as a coming force last year, is still coming. The impact of the rural sector was stronger this year, not just in its swing to National, but in our continued dependence on it for our first-world lifestyle.
The panel stressed this year that true power does not respect right and wrong. They did not necessarily like what some of these people were doing, but they had to acknowledge their influence.
The list is for this year only. Power can be fickle: ask Ian Fraser, who was high on the list until a few days ago. Or Winston Peters, who seemed to be sliding on election night, only to become one of the key props of government. It’s all in how you move the pieces around the board.
Additional reporting by Alistair Bone, Joanne Black and Nick Smith.
PowerPanel
Michael Bassett: former minister of Health and Arts, former Waitangi Tribunal member, historian and columnist.
Jane Clifton: the Listener’s political columnist, author.
Chris Doig: head of sponsorship and business development at the NZ Symphony Orchestra, former CEO NZ Cricket, opera singer.
Pauline Kingi: Auckland director of Te Puni Kokiri, trustee of Leadership NZ, AUT council member.
Rod Oram: finance journalist, adjunct professor in the NZ Centre for Innovation and Entrepreneurship at Unitec.
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