Power List: Queensland’s top 10 most influential women

Queensland’s most influential have been revealed in the Courier-Mail Power List. Now we collate the top 10 most powerful women.

Kylie Lang

7 min read

September 16, 2022 - 3:49PM

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They say it’s a man’s world, but in Queensland there are some very powerful women too. Here are the top 10, who also featured prominently in the Courier-Mail Top 100 Most Powerful People in the state.

They’ve all earned their place and aren’t afraid to use their position to make or influence key decisions that shape Queensland.

SCROLL TO THE BOTTOM TO FIND OUT HOW WE DETERMINED THE MOST POWERFUL, AND SEE ALL THE LISTS

Annastacia Palaszczuk

1. ANNASTACIA PALASZCZUK

PREMIER AND OLYMPICS MINISTER

Here’s one list the Premier actually tops. After coming second to United Workers Union boss Gary Bullock in the Courier-Mail Top 100 Most Powerful People in Queensland, Annastacia Palaszczuk ranks as the number one woman in the power stakes. Despite scathing criticism of her government over integrity issues, poor handling of the housing crisis and a woeful track record on youth crime – among other failings – Palaszczuk remains a Labor hero.

While she was viewed as the accidental premier after trouncing Campbell Newman in 2015, the Member for Inala has shown she knows how to play the political game, and remains Labor’s best hope should she decide to run in the 2024 election.

However, she has increasingly raised the ire of voters who see her as the “party Premier”, attending red carpet events and prioritising sports stars and celebrities over ordinary Queenslanders, particularly during Covid lockdowns and mandates.

There is also a distinct perception – including in stalwart Labor circles – that she has “checked out” and her love life (with surgeon Reza Adib) is clouding her decision making as Premier.

Will she be the most powerful woman in the state next year? That remains to be seen.

Gina Rinehart

2. GINA RINEHART

AUSTRALIAN OUTBACK BEEF AND HANCOCK PROSPECTING EXECUTIVE CHAIRMAN

You don’t have to be based in Queensland to wield power – and Gina Rinehart is proof.

The nation’s richest person, who placed 12th in the Courier-Mail Top 100 Most Powerful People in the state, has massive influence in a wide range of sectors, including business, property, sport and the arts.

Rinehart’s huge cattle operation S Kidman & Co – it and its parent company Australian Outback Beef have net assets of $392m – is moving its head office to the sunshine state.

The West Australian-based mining magnate and daughter of Lang Hancock is also a big player in the property game. Last year she announced she was going to buy the Great Keppel Island Resort for a rumoured $50m and splash millions bringing the tourism icon back to life. The deal fell through but she does own a riverfront mansion in Brisbane which she paid $18.5m for in 2017 – and recently paid more than $76m for four homes at Sunshine Beach.

Rinehart is a huge supporter of Australia’s Olympics efforts, being patron of four teams and the largest single non-government contributor to the Olympic effort. She also is a major donor to the Queensland Ballet and is feted at red carpet events including this year’s Brisbane Fashion Festival (where she sponsored the emerging designers’ parade).

Rinehart is Australia’s biggest landholder, controlling more than 9.2m hectares or 1.2 per cent of the country’s landmass. But it seems Queensland is her favourite patch.

Shannon Fentiman

3. SHANNON FENTIMAN

ATTORNEY-GENERAL

Definitely one of the Palaszczuk Government’s better performers due to her willingness to get things done as a good activist attorney-general should, Shannon Fentiman is the most senior female member of the Left in the caucus.

Many see Fentiman, who placed 13th in the Courier-Mail Top 100 Most Powerful People in Queensland, as a potential Premier.

She was strong out of the gate after being appointed attorney-general and has built a reputation since for being a workhorse, with the bulk of legislation currently coming before the parliament being within her remit.

She is a powerful advocate for domestic violence reform, creating a taskforce to investigate coercive control legislation, and has taken a commonsense approach to much-needed shield laws to protect the confidential sources of journalists.

However, Fentiman is under increasing fire to take stronger action to curb youth crime as juvenile offenders continue to make a mockery of the law.

Queenslanders are demanding more is done to keep them safe, and that falls to Fentiman.

Rachel Hunter

4. RACHEL HUNTER

DEPARTMENT OF PREMIER AND CABINET DIRECTOR-GENERAL

Coming in at number 16 in the Courier-Mail Top 100 Most Powerful People in Queensland, Rachel Hunter holds down the most powerful job in the public service, and is the first woman to do so.

Formerly under-treasurer during the critical early stages of the Covid-19 pandemic, Hunter is highly regarded and accomplished, having worked across various portfolios over an extensive career.

She is not someone who attracts controversy, and is not seen as a polarising figure, but she has considerable sway across the public service.

She will have a lot of influence in the way in which the critical findings of the Coaldrake Review into public service culture are implemented over the coming months.

Katie Page

5. KATIE PAGE

MAGIC MILLIONS BOSS

With her husband Gerry Harvey, Katie Page is a real force in Queensland. Apart from their thriving Harvey Norman empire, they own the successful Magic Millions business – and their racing clout stretches through the ownership of several studs and more than 1000 racehorses.

Queensland-raised Page has been a trailblazer for women in business and in sport, including by becoming the NRL’s first female board member in 2004.

Page is also determined to back women in business – and is a key backer of the Gold Coast Bulletin’s Woman of the Year awards.

She and Harvey ranked 18th in the Courier-Mail Top 100 Most Powerful People in Queensland.

Grace Grace

6. GRACE GRACE

MINISTER FOR EDUCATION, INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS AND RACING

When you’re thick with the Premier that gives you undeniable clout. Grace Grace has been part of Annastacia Palaszczuk’s inner sanctum since returning as the Member for Brisbane Central (later renamed McConnel) in 2015 after losing the seat three years earlier.

A very personable MP, Grace oversees a range of key portfolios – and sits on the powerful Cabinet Budget Review Committee.

More than a few people with an astute inside view insist, however, that her reliance on the unions – she was famously the first female head of the Queensland Council of Unions – prevents her wielding as much power as she otherwise might in education, industrial relations and racing spheres.

She has been known to backflip on issues to appease the Queensland Teachers Union in particular.

Grace came in at 20 in the Courier-Mail Top 100 Most Powerful People list.

Beth Mohle

7. BETH MOHLE

QUEENSLAND NURSES AND MIDWIVES’ UNION SECRETARY

A massive voice in the medical sphere, Beth Mohle is a passionate supporter of all medical unions and has campaigned for a number of policies to advance the interests of nurses and midwives.

She became the organiser of the Queensland Nurses Union in 1991 and in 2011, stepped into the role of QNMU Secretary in 2011.

Under a Labor government beholden to the unions, Mohle is a powerful figure, and for this reason she placed 21st in the Courier-Mail Top 100 Most Powerful People in Queensland.

Before she climbed the ranks to become the Queensland Nurses and Midwives’ Union secretary, she worked as a nurse on the floor treating and healing patients, and completed her Registered Nurse training at the Royal Brisbane Hospital.

Kate Jones

8. KATE JONES

ARLC COMMISSIONER AND TECH COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

This former state Labor minister proactively and tirelessly uses her contacts and knowledge of politics and the way this government works to influence decision-makers.

Kate Jones, who presided over the 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games, is now a member of the Australian Rugby League Commission and was at the forefront of the decision to grant the Dolphins the 17th NRL licence.

She has so impressed during her time on the ARLC that there are whispers Jones may become its first female chair down the track.

But she is not only highly rated by league bosses. Jones also has powerful connections nationally (and not just in Labor circles) – and is also on the Paralympics Australia board.

She remains the president of the state’s Labor Unity faction, and is also shaping the country’s digital future through working with government and players across the $167bn tech sector.

She placed 23rd in the Courier-Mail Top 100 Most Powerful People in Queensland.

Jayne Hrdlicka

9. JAYNE HRDLICKA

VIRGIN AUSTRALIA CEO

American-born Jayne Hrdlicka has become one of the most powerful and recognisable CEOs in Queensland after taking on the role of Virgin Australia boss in 202020.

Hrdlicka – who came in at number 27 in the Courier-Mail Top 100 Most Powerful People in Queensland – has steered Virgin out of voluntary administration and is now navigating a new growth path for the airline as Australia recovers from the global pandemic.

With so much of Queensland’s prosperity riding on the tourism sector, especially as we head towards the 2032 Olympics, Brisbane-based Hrdlicka is a person of great influence.

She is also well-known to sports lovers as the chairman and board president of Tennis Australia.

Anika Wells

10. ANIKA WELLS

FEDERAL MINISTER FOR SPORT AND AGED CARE

The Member for Lilley is from the new generation of parliamentarians with policy smarts, political nous, and boundless energy – all ingredients of a weapon set to rise through the ranks.

Indeed, she has already been one of the Albanese Government’s more visible ministers – and her enthusiasm and sense of excitement has been a breath of fresh air.

But the former compensation lawyer and Moreton Bay College captain – who came in at number 27 in the Courier-Mail Top 100 Most Powerful People in Queensland – faces a challenging few years as the Minister responsible for the always-tough aged care sector.

She has been named by the Prime Minister to sit on the Organising Committee for the Olympic Games, so will have a juggling act to play as pleas for billions of dollars in Olympic funding for her beloved home state intensify.