The true quote that coined that term is Australia is a lucky country run mainly by second rate people who share its luck. It lives on other people's ideas, and

The true quote that coined that term is 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. Maybe we’re a bit better now (particularly after the last election) but it doesn’t really mean what everyone thinks it means. Basically, historically, we have failed upwards. Still, there are very few places I’d desire to live in