One thing is clear about who did and didn't make the cut in positions 40 to 31 on TropicNow's 2017 TNQ Power 50 List.

When compared to The Cairns Post's list, today reveals just how different they are.

Check out both lists below, and let the debate rage on over at TropicNow's Facebook page.

Cairns Post most influential vs TropicNow Power 50

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Positions 50-41

The Cairns Post's list differs greatly from our own. For starters, TropicNow's list looks back across the past 11 months to rank those who have contributed and influenced throughout 2017.

In contrast, the newspaper has included Labor candidate Cynthia Lui on its list, despite being virtually unknown up until a month ago when the state election started ramping up.

We've also left Cairns stalwart Bill Cummings off our list, while he ranked at 43 on the Post's list.

And rather than rank each of the 10 Cairns councillors individually, we've grouped them together. Their relatively low collective ranking reflects the nature of the power base at council HQ.

For our reasoning behind each ranking, make sure to pick up edition 9 of Tropic Magazine when it hits the streets next week.

Positions 40-31

So this is where the two lists begin to look very, very different from each other. 

There are some shock inclusions this far down the list by The Cairns Post. Darren Halpin and Professor Sandra Harding rank at 37 and 34 respectively, despite being two of the most high-profile and respected organisational leaders in the region.

The Cairns Post has also decided to go with some long-term local stalwarts who have done great things in the past, while here at TropicNow we've chosen some new faces who stepped up in 2017 to deliver wider influence throughout the year.

The Post has selected Allan Tan, Gary Young and Bishop James Foley in this bracket, while TropicNow has elevated Stephen Foster, Cairns Regional Council's head of Cultural Services, and architect Carlo Amerio, who designed both the Nova City towers and hotels for Crystalbrook Collection, both projects that will shape and influence our skyline for decades to come. 

TOMORROW ON TROPICNOW:

The countdown heats up as we reveal positions 30 to 21 from both the Cairns Post and TropicNow lists.