The woman at the centre of a Sydney sex assault trial that sparked a fierce debate about consent laws has been named the most culturally powerful Australian of the year.
Saxon Mullins, who alleged she was raped by Sydney man Luke Lazarus in a Kings Cross laneway in 2013, topped the Australian Financial Review Magazine's Cultural Power List.
Ms Mullins, who has spoken publicly about the incident since Mr Lazarus was acquitted of rape after almost a year in jail, has led the Australian #MeToo movement, according to the AFR.
"The panel was looking for an Australian person who represents that movement," AFR Magazine editor Matt Drummond told AAP.
"In thinking about who is the one particular woman who has been the most powerful, they agreed that Saxon Mullins is that person."
The 23-year-old stepped into the spotlight in May, telling the ABC's Four Corners about the impact the alleged assault had on her as an 18-year-old.
Mr Lazarus was convicted in 2015 and jailed for three years for raping Ms Mullins but was later cleared and his sentence overturned on appeal.
The appeal judge said the crown had not established there were reasonable grounds for believing Ms Mullins was not consenting to what happened to her.
Ms Mullins has spoken out on social media about NSW consent laws with the AFR panel noting no one had personified the #MeToo movement as dramatically as her in Australia.
Second on the list was Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce for the role he played in the Australian marriage equality debate.
Director and writer Tony Ayres was voted third.
Indigenous rights activist and Lowitja Institute chair Pat Anderson was placed fourth on the list while wheelchair athletes Kurt Fearnley and Dylan Alcott were equal fifth.
AFL players Majak Daw and Aliir Aliir also made the list for their work representing the Australian African community during a tense debate on gangs in Melbourne.
"I think that sport is the actual engine room of cultural power in Australia," Mr Drummond said.
"It's the arena in which Australians have some pretty complex conversations."
The AFR Magazine Cultural Power List 2018:
1. Saxon Mullins
2. Alan Joyce
3, Tony Ayres
4. Pat Anderson
5. Kurt Fearnley and Dylan Alcott
6. Craig Reucassel
7. Hannah Gadsby
8. Aliir Aliir and Majak Daw
9. Judith Neilson
10. Warwick Thornton
