“The lucky country” refers to how we have managed to make it this far for a nation whose economy is primary production and debt.
The term was originally intended as a criticism not a compliment.
The term was originally intended as a criticism not a compliment.
"Australia is a lucky country run mainly by second rate people who share its luck. It lives on other people's ideas, and, although its ordinary people are adaptable, most of its leaders (in all fields) so lack curiosity about the events that surround them that they are often taken by surprise."[1]
Edit: Also as an aside, the quote originally didn't have anything to do with resources, though in modern times it makes sense to make that link.
"When I invented the phrase in 1964 to describe Australia, I said: 'Australia is a lucky country run by second rate people who share its luck.' I didn't mean that it had a lot of material resources … I had in mind the idea of Australia as a [British] derived society whose prosperity in the great age of manufacturing came from the luck of its historical origins … In the lucky style we have never 'earned' our democracy. We simply went along with some British habits."
It also still describes the apathy of the population.
But societal success always comes from the bottom up, and great cultures come from evolution, not intelligent design.
May the reins of political power in our country continue to exist in the hands of uncreative intellectual non-entities and suburban solicitors. When Great Men with Big Ideas get into power it always seems to result in a disaster.
I think a clear recent example (regardless of personal opinion) is the whole gay marriage debacle. The majority of the population wanted it but no leader had the guts to be the one to do it. The closest we got was wasting money on a plebiscite, spending $80 million to basically ask "are you really sure you want this?". I don't mind being more directly involved in democracy, but we never have such plebiscites for other issues. They didn't have the courage to go ahead without covering their backsides.
Anyway, back to the quote, if we're going to anthropomorphise Australia then the impression I get is that we are the rich kid who grew up with all the advantages bestowed upon us by Mother Britain but we never really learned to fend for ourselves as independent adults. We can't coast forever.
Funny you should mention that. Keeping Australians 'Relaxed and Comfortable' was John Howard's election pitch from a famous interview in 1996 and that legacy of "keep coasting, don't rock the boat why take a risk..." Has pretty much defined politics in this country ever since.