Aussies need to talk less, do more, new report finds

A report has found Australia is increasingly dominated by a managerial elite of the ‘talking class’ as those who make things – the ‘doers’ – are left out in the cold.

Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce has backed the findings of a new report saying that Australia is increasingly dominated by “talkers”, a phenomenon that has cost the economy a half-trillion dollars over 20 years as those who make things – “doers” – are increasingly left out in the cold.

“Talkers use their position as a pulpit to profess their own and pander to novel ideological views,” said Mr Joyce, who on Monday returned to the leadership of the National party after a snap spill motion.

Mr Joyce’s comments come in response to a report, The Rise of the Talking Class, released by the Institute of Public Affairs, which used economic modelling to determine how the country has become increasingly dominated by a managerial class.

Deputy Prime Minister of Australia Barnaby Joyce backed the findings of a new report saying Australia is increasingly dominated by “talkers”. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Martin Ollman

According to the modelling, the share of the workforce employed as doers has declined from 85 per cent in 1986 to 78 per cent in 2020.

While in 1986 there were 5.5 doers for every talker, today there are only 3.6.

The report also found that while an increase in “talkers” can be good for productivity growth, past a certain point productivity will stagnate and then decline.

That process began in 2000, when the economy hit the optimal balance between the two groups and 81.5 per cent of Australians were involved in some sort of “doer” occupation such as kitchenhand, labourer, nurse, or teacher.

These occupations are in contrast to what the report defines as “talker” occupations, which include everything from CEOs and company directors to sales professionals, administrators, and consultants.

‘Doer’ Oliver Wood at work in the kitchen at Stix, in Marrickville. Picture: Justin Lloyd.

“Australia’s society and economy have been captured by a small but growing managerial elite in the public and private sectors who have remade Australia in their image,” said Cian Hussey, Research Fellow at the IPA, author of the report.

“Australia was built by doers but is being divided and torn down by talkers who have disproportionate influence over the direction of our culture and economy,” said Mr Hussey.

Mr Joyce said that so-called talkers “act as though their credentials are retrospective to include the entirety of the businesses history. Like it was their blood and sweat that built what they now govern.

“But in reality, they weren’t there and now, only by reason of appointment, find themselves a major player in a minor moment of the businesses long life.

“Too often, talkers are the impediment to the doers getting ahead. Talkers should remember that their position of authority has come from the active doer figures who preceded them,” said Mr Joyce.

Originally published as Aussies need to talk less, do more, new report finds