Lion Public Affairs l National strategic advocacy firm specialising in communications, media, public relations and politics

Patrick Lion has worked at the most senior levels of Australia's public affairs landscape for more than two decades.

With experience advising some of Australia's leading CEOs, corporations and industries, Patrick understands how communications and engagement can influence and deliver positive outcomes in high profile environments.

Whether in the boardroom or the newsroom, handling crises as a trusted adviser or exposing major scandals as an award-winning political and business journalist, Patrick's expertise has changed opinions, policy, legislation and regulation.

Between 2021 and 2024, Patrick was at the centre of the energy transition advising one of Australia's highest profile political lobby groups, oil and gas industry association Australian Energy Producers (formerly APPEA), during the sector's unprecedented regulatory upheaval.

As Director of Media & Communications, Patrick represented around 170 different member companies - from leading major Australian ASX-listed corporations such as Woodside Energy and Santos to multinationals including Shell, BP, INPEX, ExxonMobil Australia and Chevron Australia as well as small exploration companies and supply chain firms.

It is not uncommon for the names and messages of his clients to feature on the same newspaper and website front pages, commentary sections and television and radio news bulletins that once featured his byline.

For most of his 20 years in high profile media roles, Patrick patrolled the corridors of power at the Australian and Queensland parliaments as an award-winning political editor and correspondent who delivered some of the biggest scoops of the time.

Starting out as a business reporter covering the corporate results of ASX-listed companies, Patrick was promoted to State Political Correspondent at The Courier-Mail covering Peter Beattie's government. He later led political coverage for The Sunday Mail during Anna Bligh's reign and rise of Campbell Newman.

During the Gillard, Rudd 2.0 and Abbott governments, Patrick was National Political Correspondent in the Canberra Press Gallery for Sydney's The Daily Telegraph and other News Corp titles around Australia.

While in the United Kingdom covering Brexit, royal weddings, the Grenfell Tower fire and terror attacks, Patrick worked for the world's biggest news website, Mail Online, and helped run the newsroom of London's world-famous Daily Mirror newspaper as a News Editor.

During the COVID-19 pandemic under the Palaszczuk Government, Patrick was the Seven Network's Queensland Political Editor, appearing on Seven News bulletins and nationals shows such as Sunrise.

Patrick's work has been regularly recognised in national and state awards. He was twice a Walkley finalist in the Young Australian Journalist of The Year Award. In his home state, he won four Queensland Clarion Awards, including two for business journalism, and was a finalist another four times. He was also a finalist in News Corp's Scoop of The Year, the Kennedy Awards' Splash of The Year; and runner-up in the Canberra Press Gallery's Wallace Brown Award.

Patrick holds a Bachelor of Business (Public Relations) and a Bachelor of Journalism from Queensland University of Technology in Brisbane.

He is also a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors' flagship Company Directors Course (GAICD), with experience across corporate risk, strategy, governance, legal compliance and financial literacy.