Growing up in the UK in the 1990s (I made the move to Australia in 2013), there was on advert on television for British Telecom featuring the late actor, Bob Hoskins.

It was the first time the formerly state-owned telecoms company had signed up a Hollywood actor to promote their services, but it's iconic slogan – "It's good to talk" is well-ingrained in the nation's collective psyche.

And - judging by the amount of roundtables which are being convened at the moment - it would appear the Australian government of 2025 would agree with those clever advertising wonks at AMV, BT's branding agency, who came up with the immortal catchline.

Last month resources minister Madeleine King convened two roundtable discussions with Australia's resources sector to discuss the government's productivity agenda.

King met with senior leaders of resources companies and in the first session and then in the second met with leaders from the critical minerals and rare earths mining and processing sectors.

Then, not to be outdone, today in Sydney the climate change and energy minister Chris Bowen is hosting two roundtable meetings in Sydney.

According to a recent interview he gave "one [is] on electricity and one on climate adaptation, which is going to be an increasing focus of this government and future governments, because, tragically, the world has left it too late to avoid the impacts of climate change."

The purpose of both these meetings – and numerous others - is to feed into the main event: the much-vaunted Productivity Roundtables to be chaired by Treasurer Jim Chalmers in Canberra later this month.

The agenda and the invite list for the three-day talkfest have been released and it's certainly a well-formulated and considered structure with a roll-call of the great and good in attendance.

Chalmers says the roundtable meetings are "all about building consensus on long-term economic reform, with a focus on resilience, productivity and budget sustainability."

However, Canberra-watchers might have a different take on all this.

Might it be that Albanese's government is starting to get nervous at what it's seeing going on in the country and indeed the world and is feeling a little…panicked?

The cost of living crisis is biting for sure. Australian manufacturing has been replaced by an ever-growing but far less profitable service sector. The renewable energy roll-out is struggling with coal-fired power stations edging ever nearer to closure. Energy and resources projects are being beset by red tape and lawfare.

And on the macro level, the world is a far less assured place than it previously what with Presidents Putin and Trump waving their…sabres. And the less said about the tragic situation in the Middle East, the better.  

So, is it that our political leaders are just begging for help and ideas from the country's best minds? And does that mean they have run out of their own ways to fix the challenges facing the country?

Perhaps.

Another way to look at it is that by inviting all the chiefs to sit around the campfire, when the decisions and plans of action and roadmaps are made, if by any chance they don't work, then the government can always say "Well, we all agreed it was a good idea at the time, didn't we?"

Cynical? Moi?

And then again, there is another way of looking at it – perhaps more favourably.

Politicians are laymen and laywomen– that's the way our political system works. Educated - maybe. Talented – possibly. But not necessarily granular-level experts. That's what the myriad of workers in the public sector are for - beavering away in the numerous governmental departments, agencies and authorities. That's where the real expertise lies and where the policy ideas are generated which are then escalated up to ministerial offices for consideration and sign off.

And it's exactly these types of talented and finely tuned minds which have been invited to bring their A-game to the Cabinet room later this month.

There's been a lot said about the role of "experts" since the rise of Trump as president mark I and mark II. (Pity the likes of Dr Anthony Fauci who is now destined to live out his days 24/7 surrounded by private security to protect him from crazed elements of the MAGA faithful).

But I for one would prefer to have our political leaders mulling over the opinions and insights of people who've spent their lives working in their particular fields rather than just letting a few policy advisors living in the Canberra village come up with new ideas.

A diversity of opinion is surely the best way ensure all sides of the argument are examined and the best way forward most effectively plotted out.

And it goes without saying, anything's better than a plebiscite.

As Bob said: "It's good to talk."

Yours, 

Russell Yeo