Sydney Power: Andrew Scipione at #3. Andrew Scipione is the rarest of beasts: a popular police commissioner. And, as we recently reported, he’s the only one in NSW in two decades to be appointed by both sides of politics.

“He’s a top cop, a good cop, and a straight shooter with strong ethics,” former premier Morris Iemma tells The Power Index. “He’s without doubt, one of the most decent men … most ethical men that I have ever met,” says his predecessor Ken Moroney. “He’s someone who makes decisions without fear or favour,” agrees current premier Barry O’Farrell, “someone who has always made decisions on the basis of public interest.”

Remarkably, even civil libertarians seem reasonably happy with his work. So why on earth is Skippy so popular? One reason may be that police officers are doing their job properly at last. — Paul Barry (read the full profile here)

Palmer’s BHP ‘beer money’ faces legal test. Clive Palmer readily admits to feeling a little wider around the edges these days. Turns out he’s been enjoying the spoils of a rather profitable little asset he acquired on the outskirts of Townsville back in 2009.

But they’re spoils he may soon be forced to share if the shareholders of a company where Palmer once served as a director, Gladstone Pacific, have their way. — Angela Priestley (read the full story here)

Megaphones on the march: what they’re up to. Piers Akerman sheds his blogging scepticism; Herald Sun to publish corrections over Bolt’s columns; Alan Jones to speak at the National Press Club …

Here we reveal what Australia’s most powerful megaphones have been up to over the last week. — Matthew Knott (read the full story here)

Kelly still outruns Rinehart in power race. She is arguably Australia’s most powerful businesswoman, and is continuing to make waves on the international power circuit. So it’s no surprise that Westpac CEO Gail Kelly should nab the No. 2 spot in Fortune magazine’s 50 Most Powerful Women in Business for the fourth year running.

But Gina Rinehart, Australia’s richest woman, still doesn’t make the list. And there is no mention of Prime Minister Julia Gillard, as the list is purely business-based. — Lucy Clark (read the full story here)