Our top 10 power list also contains humanitarians and academics who have made life choices to serve and nurture their communities.

These are wonderful people who have changed lives for the better and all deserve recognition.

LOGAN POWER LIST COUNTDOWN

50-41 | 40-31 | 30-21 | 20-11 | 10-1

10: JON RAVEN

Councillor Jon Raven was first elected to Logan City Council in 2016 and was one of the four councillors not to be charged with fraud in 2018. After the council was dismissed, he and three other councillors were employed on an Interim Management Committee under Administrator Tamara O’Shea. This year, he was re-elected to his seat which covers growth suburbs of Marsden, Crestmead, Waterford West and the industrial areas of Berrinba. After being re-elected, he was made deputy mayor of Logan, a coveted position of power in the city. Cr Raven believes in community consultation and has made a name for himself by doorknocking constituents to find out the grassroots issues. He is a vocal member of the Labor Party, but has never taken party donations, and is often seen helping ALP campaigns at both state and federal levels. He has the ear of many Labor Party officials and politicians and is a well-known negotiator in council planning and industrial circles. He moved to Logan in 2008, when he was running his own asbestos removal and demolition business, which he sold a year after becoming a councillor. He now lives in Waterford West with his children.

9: DARREN POWER

The position of mayor of Logan was always one Darren Power aspired to hold and this year he was elected to the post after serving for 22 years with the council. Following four years of turmoil within the council ranks, Cr Power has worked tirelessly to restore faith and unity in the organisation. He has lived by the adage “the harder you work, the luckier you get” a concept adopted by his son Lachlan, a YouTube sensation with more than 13 million online followers and his own Fortnite skin. Cr Power also played a major role as a whistleblower, which resulted in a criminal investigation into the previous council. He was also a vocal opponent to councillors taking overseas trips for work and his views were reflected in changes made to the Local Government Act over the past two years. He is a long-term Logan resident and lives with his wife Lynne, in Shailer Park, where his four adult children were raised. The fitness-conscious mayor spent time in service with 1 Commando Regiment­, where he earned his Green Beret and Parachute Wings. He was also a federal officer working in the Close Protection and Consulate Patrol Group.

8: JIM CHALMERS

As Shadow Treasurer, Rankin MP Jim Chalmers has the ear of many in Canberra. The 42-year-old father, grew up in Logan and prides himself in being down to earth and approachable. He played a leading role in helping to design some of the Labor Party policies at last year’s federal election and was a strident advocate of abolishing negative gearing and overhauling franking credits for some shareholders. After last year’s federal election, he decided not to succeed Bill Shorten as party leader and Leader of the Opposition, despite his popularity and relative youth. His membership of the Labor Right faction has been seen as both an asset and liability. In 2013, he married journalist Laura Anderson, who worked as a staffer to Penny Wong and Julia Gillard. Gillard and Wayne Swan both attended the wedding, which was the setting for Gillard to design her new ministry. The couple has three children.

7: CATH BARTOLO

She may be quietly spoken but social services and welfare advocate Cath Bartolo is fearless. The chief executive of YFS Ltd worked around the clock during the height of the coronavirus outbreak in Logan, sacrificing sleep and home life to help bring food, hand sanitiser, masks and medications to those in need across the city. Her many years of advocacy work in the welfare sector has meant Ms Bartolo is well-known and respected at all tiers of government. She has been able to drive through changes to the way social services are delivered in a sector that is often regarded as rigid and inflexible because of its reliance on funding. YFS is a not-for-profit organisation which delivers a range of services in Logan and beyond. Ms Bartolo has worked in Logan for 25 years as a teacher, a disability co-ordinator and for the past 14 years as YFS chief. She has been a member of the QCOSS board for 10 years and was a respected member of the Logan City of Choice Leadership Team. She has chaired the Logan Local Advisory Group for Better Futures, Local Solutions. The organisation caters for people who are disadvantaged, vulnerable or need assistance to meet the everyday challenges of society. YFS services include: housing; domestic and family violence; children, family and relationships; disability; money management; legal; mental health; young people; community education and information referral and assessment.

6: MATT O’HANLON

Beenleigh State High School has come a long way under the leadership of larrikin principal Matt O’Hanlon. The long-serving headmaster, who loves teaching and mentoring students, won the state’s top education accolade at this year’s 21st annual Showcase Awards for Excellence in Schools. Mr O’Hanlon, who has been at the school for 12 years, said the secret to his success was listening and being able to be “on the level” with students. Education Minister Grace Grace awarded the title to Mr O’Hanlon, who is well-known in the department after he was sent to Far North Queensland to trouble shoot and set up programs in an indigenous community in 2016. Within Education Queensland, he has the reputation for achieving the unattainable and is well regarded by Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk who took three Cabinet Ministers to Beenleigh to dine with him at his Paddock to Plate school lunch last year. He is also respected by other state high school principals who regularly look to him for advice. He and his staff have been successful in turning around some of the social issues at the school, one of the largest in regional southeast Queensland. His focus on an innovative reading program has also been recognised nationally.

5: LINDA O’BRIEN

As the Head of the Logan Campus of Griffith University Linda O’Brien has played a major role in building the University’s capabilities to respond to community needs. During the COVID crisis, when high schools were in lockdown, Ms O’Brien sent out a message to all year 12 students vowing to help them next year, giving them hope and urging them to stay on track with their studies. It is public moves such as this, which have given her the reputation of being a generous enabler, who is willing to consider different options. The respect for data helped her find her true standing in the community when she took over as the head of the Logan campus. She was appointed Pro Vice Chancellor in September 2017. Her love of data helped her to build on her wealth of knowledge gleaned in executive information and technology roles. She is committed to promoting education in the region, strengthening community partnerships to advance research and translate research into actions. she has played a huge part in getting state and federal governments to focus on Meadowbrook and Logan as a hub for tertiary learning and medical facilities. Her keen aim is to position Griffith Logan as an effective catalyst in the creation of an innovative and resilient region. She is passionate about the value of information as the foundation for learning, research and innovation and is engaged in international and national initiatives aimed at leveraging innovative information technologies to make data, in all its forms. Ms O’Brien has published and presented, both nationally and internationally and is on the board of ORCID, a non-profit organisation helping create a world in which all who participate in research, scholarship and innovation are linked.

She is a member of the Queensland Public Records Review Committee and the Australian Urban Research Information Network Steering Committee.

4: GAIL KER

Gail Ker, who is the chief executive of Access Community Services, is known throughout Logan for her tireless work helping the community’s poorest and most vulnerable. Her name is well known throughout civic circles as she has spent more than 25 years working in multicultural, humanitarian and community sectors. Although her legacy will be inextricably linked to Access, she also made headlines with her “99 Steps to end Domestic Violence” program. The scheme has provided legal support and counselling to more than 100 women from culturally and linguistically diverse communities, who have experienced or been affected by domestic and family violence. She built up Access employment service from a small, one-room practice in Logan to one of the country’s leading employment agencies. It now provides training, youth support, housing and social enterprise services for migrants, refugees and Australians. Her work and generosity was recognised in 2010 when she was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia in the Queen’s Birthday Honours for service to the multicultural community. Ms Ker followed in the footsteps of her mum, Noeline Clamp, who is also a well-recognised community champion in Logan. Although Ms Ker was an only child, she grew up with thousands of people calling her mother “Mum”. They both worked tirelessly for refugees and the wider community.

3: DUANE ANTCLIFF

Duane Antcliff knows the benefits of sport for youngsters. He has used rugby league as a tool to turn around the lives of many young dispossessed kids who were on track for lives of crime. As the president of Logan Brothers, the city’s largest league club, Mr Antcliff has spent much of the past 27 years ensuring kids, who had the propensity of sliding off the rails, were engaged and kept on the straight and narrow. He stepped into the role as president three years ago taking the reins from Matt Mead. But his place at the club was cemented many years before when he started coaching both junior and senior teams. He has watched as some of his star players, such as Cameron Smith, Rabbitohs back-rower Jaydn Su’A, Titans prop Moeaki Fotuaika and Melbourne Storm’s Brenko Lee, have carved their names in NRL history. He has started programs at the club to ensure underprivileged players are not financially disadvantaged. He is married to Gillian and the couple’s son and daughter both played at the club which has more than 1400 members. Mr Antcliff has played a seminal role in introducing women’s league to the club and is in the process of working out a deal with Loganlea State High School. Recently, he was leading talks with Queensland Rugby League officials in a bid to throw the spotlight on Logan as a growing rugby league city, which may be big enough to support a new league.

2: CAMERON DICK

Cameron Dick, who is the Labor Party Member for Woodridge, is Queensland Treasurer, one of the top three most powerful political positions in the state, behind Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk and the Deputy Premier. He moved into the Cabinet role in May after the resignation of Jackie Trad and was re-anointed to the position this week after winning back his seat of Woodridge at this month’s state election with a margin greater than 27 per cent. He is known to be ambitious and keen but is also popular with constituents. His power base was widened when he was Minister for State Development, Manufacturing, Infrastructure and Planning, and he was able to encourage Logan companies to apply for government grants in an effort to kickstart manufacturing in Logan and across the state. However, it was his move to take a leading role during this year’s pandemic and actively help businesses adapt and forge into new manufacturing areas, which gained him great respect from the business sector. He encouraged Banyo-based Triple Eight Race Engineering team to develop a ventilator which could be used by COVID patients. He also encouraged Beenleigh Rum Distillery to start making hand sanitiser to boost state stocks. Last year, he played a leading role in garnering a $1.2 billion infrastructure deal with nine developers in Logan’s southern growth suburbs. He has also held the prominent post of Attorney-General and the Health portfolio, winning funding for Logan Hospital upgrades, including the new eight-storey carpark which is under construction.

1: BRIAN SWAN

The most powerful position in Logan is held by Brian Swan, the Logan District Chief Superintendent. He and his team’s powers extend to the state’s inland borders, which he has patrolled during the pandemic. The 57-year-old, who grew up in Logan, understands more than most, the city’s strengths and problems. His desire to serve the community he grew up in, started when he was at St Paul’s Catholic Primary School in Woodridge and was confirmed at Kingston State High School. He is known throughout the police service as being a sure and steady operator, qualities he has perfected while pursuing his love of running marathons. “Long-distance running, just like life, is all about building resilience and not really about speed,” he said. “Once you find the right pace, you can concentrate on enjoying the run and making it worthwhile.” His role is not for the faint-hearted and involves being confronted with cases of child abuse, violence and murder. His calm nature was evident when he was called on in February to take control of operations after the tragic deaths of Camp Hill mum Hannah Clarke and her three children in February. Three months later, he was moved to head up the Logan District, where he has the respect of his team, colleagues and government leaders. Since taking up his role, he has overseen a crack task force team which targets domestic violence across his jurisdiction to the New South Wales border. But power is no motivation for the father of three, whose long-term desire is to make Logan safer and a better place to live. That commitment is shared by his wife Fiona, the Head of Mathematics at Trinity College Beenleigh.

LOGAN POWER LIST COUNTDOWN

50-41 | 40-31 | 30-21 | 20-11 | 10-1