Test your Budget knowledge with our Budget 2018 quiz.

If you want a hint, ‘jobs’, “growth” and “families” are definitely not the answer to any of the questions, no matter how many times you say those words.

Budget trivia – how much do you know?

Q1. Approximately how long did Scott Morrison’s 2018 Budget speech last for?

Q2. Which House of Parliament sets the Budget?

Q3. Can parliamentarians drink alcohol during the Budget?

Q4. Where does the word Budget come from?

Q5. Australia has had how many Prime Ministers since Federation?

Q6. How many Prime Ministers also held the role of Australian Treasurer at some stage in their career can you name?

Q7. How many Australian Treasurers can you name?

 

 

Have a think about it and then read on …

 

Q1. Approximately how long did Scott Morrison’s Budget speech last for?

Scott Morrison’s speech lasted for approximately 30 minutes (7:30pm to 8:00pm)

Count yourself lucky. If you tuned in at 7:30pm on ABC for Treasurer Morrison’s 30 minute speech then spare a thought for British parliamentarians in 1853. They had to sit through William Gladstone’s 4 hour and 45 minute budget speech, the longest ever. Perhaps he sought to outdo his rival, Benjamin Disraeli who in 1852 lasted 5 hours (but he took a break in between his brandy & waters!).

 

Q2. Which House of Parliament sets the Budget?

Only the House of Representatives can set the Budget. Only the House of Representatives can decide what charges may be made “of the people, by the people and for the people” (Abraham Lincoln). It is a basic constitutional principle that only the people’s elected representatives can have any say in what taxes should be imposed upon them. While the Senate (Keating’s “unrepresentative swill”) can block Budget measures (as happened in 2014) it cannot set its own Budget measures. Our head of state (has anyone truly worked out yet if it’s the Queen or the Governor General? Because we’re still confused) has no say in Budget measures.

 

Q3. Can parliamentarians drink alcohol during the Budget?

We can’t find a rule that says that parliamentarians can’t drink during the Budget, but we assume they don’t all do it.

In the UK, by tradition the Budget is the only occasion a Member of Parliament can have a stiff drink while speaking in Parliament (alcohol is otherwise banned under parliamentary rules). While the last three British Chancellors have boringly opted for water, previous Chancellors have enjoyed whisky (Ken Clarke), a G&T (Geoffrey Howe, who sadly named his dog Budget), a brandy (Churchill in the 1920s) and sherry and beaten egg (Gladstone – maybe that’s why his speech took so long).

Perhaps this is one British custom we could have retained in Australia to our amusement. Can you imagine Paul Keating or Peter Costello on song in full attack mode after a double Bundy & coke or two? Then again, we assume Keating would more likely prefer a rare, aged French cognac.

Or John Howard as Treasurer back in the day drinking a…. nope, we can’t imagine him drinking at all. We could imagine Scott Morrison with a beer or two.

This is one tradition I believe there should be a groundswell of voter support to reinstate (perhaps then bringing into play the Kevin Rudd defense of “I was too drunk to remember” when all those election promises are invariably broken).

 

Q4. Where does the word Budget come from?

‘Budget’ derives from the Middle English ‘bowgette’, which came from Middle French ‘bougette’, which in turn is a diminutive of ‘bouge’, a leather bag.

In 18th century England the plans of public expenditure (the statements or schedules of accounts) were carried into Parliament in the leather bag called the budget. Over time, the term ‘budget’ began to refer to the contents of the bag rather than the bag itself.

In 1733, British Prime Minister and Chancellor of the Exchequer, Sir Robert Walpole was depicted satirically as a quack doctor opening his bag (or budget) of pills and potions. Some things never change!

 

Q5. Australia has had how many Prime Ministers since Federation?

Australia has had 29 Prime Ministers since Federation. We list them all below.

Number Prime Minister Party From To Duration
1 Barton, Edmund Prot Jan-01 Sep-03 2 years, 8 months, 24 days
2 Deakin, Alfred Prot Sep-03 Apr-04 7 months, 4 days
3 Watson, John Christian ALP Apr-04 Aug-04 3 months, 21 days
4 Reid, George Houston FT Aug-04 Jul-05 10 months, 18 days
Deakin, Alfred Prot Jul-05 Nov-08 3 years, 4 months, 9 days
5 Fisher, Andrew ALP Nov-08 Jun-09 6 months, 21 days
Deakin, Alfred Lib Jun-09 Apr-10 10 months, 28 days
Fisher, Andrew ALP Apr-10 Jun-13 3 years, 1 month, 26 days
6 Cook, Joseph Lib Jun-13 Sep-14 1 year, 2 months, 25 days
Fisher, Andrew ALP Sep-14 Oct-15 1 year, 1 month, 11 days
7 Hughes, William Morris ALP Oct-15 Feb-23 7 years, 3 months, 14 days
8 Bruce, Stanley Melbourne Nat Feb-23 Oct-29 6 years, 8 months, 14 days
9 Scullin, James Henry ALP Oct-29 Jan-32 2 years, 2 months, 16 days
10 Lyons, Joseph Aloysius UAP Jan-32 Apr-39 7 years, 3 months, 2 days
11 Page, Earle Christmas CP Apr-39 Apr-39 20 days
12 Menzies, Robert Gordon UAP Apr-39 Aug-41 2 years, 4 months, 4 days
13 Fadden, Arthur William CP Aug-41 Oct-41 1 month, 9 days
14 Curtin, John ALP Oct-41 Jul-45 3 years, 8 months, 29 days
15 Forde, Francis Michael ALP Jul-45 Jul-45 8 days
16 Chifley, Joseph Benedict ALP Jul-45 Dec-49 4 years, 5 months, 7 days
Menzies, Robert Gordon Lib Dec-49 Jan-66 16 years, 1 month, 8 days
17 Holt, Harold Edward Lib Jan-66 Dec-67 1 year, 10 months, 23 days
18 McEwen, John CP Dec-67 Jan-68 23 days
19 Gorton, John Grey Lib Jan-68 Mar-71 3 years, 2 months
20 McMahon, William Lib Mar-71 Dec-72 1 year, 8 months, 25 days
21 Whitlam, Edward Gough ALP Dec-72 Nov-75 2 years, 11 months, 7 days
22 Fraser, John Malcolm Lib Nov-75 Mar-83 7 years, 4 months
23 Hawke, Robert James Lee ALP Mar-83 Dec-91 8 years, 9 months, 9 days
24 Keating, Paul John ALP Dec-91 Mar-96 4 years, 2 months, 20 days
25 Howard, John Winston Lib Mar-96 Dec-07 11 years, 8 months, 22 days
26 Rudd, Kevin Michael ALP Dec-07 Jun-10 2 years, 6 months, 21 days
27 Gillard, Julia Eileen ALP Jun-10 Jun-13 3 years, 3 days
Rudd, Kevin Michael ALP Jun-13 Sep-13 2 months, 22 days
28 Abbott, Anthony John Lib Sep-13 Sept-15 2 years
29 Turnbull, Malcolm Bligh Lib Sept-15

 

 

Q6. How many Prime Ministers also held the role of Australian Treasurer at some stage in their career can you name?

16 out of the 29 Prime Ministers (55%) also held the role of Treasurer at some stage in their career. We list them all below.

1 Chris Watson 9 Arthur Fadden
2 Andrew Fisher 10 Ben Chifley
3 Joseph Cook 11 Harold Holt
4 Stanley Bruce 12 William McMahon
5 Earle Page 13 Gough Whitlam
6 James Scullin 14 John Howard
7 Joseph Lyons 15 Paul Keating
8 Robert Menzies 16 Bob Hawke

 

Q7. How many Australian Treasurers can you name?

We list the Australian Treasurers prior to Scott Morrison below.

Australian Treasurers since Federation
Year Treasurer Year Treasurer
1901–1904 George Turner 1940 Percy Spender
1904 Chris Watson 1940–1941 Arthur Fadden
1904–1905 George Turner 1941–1949 Ben Chifley
1905–1907 John Forrest 1949–1958 Arthur Fadden
1907–1908 William Lyne 1958–1966 Harold Holt
1908–1909 Andrew Fisher 1966–1969 William McMahon
1909–1910 John Forrest 1969–1971 Leslie Bury
1910–1913 Andrew Fisher 1971–1972 Billy Snedden
1913–1914 John Forrest 1972 Gough Whitlam
1914–1915 Andrew Fisher 1972–1974 Frank Crean
1915–1916 William Higgs 1974–1975 Jim Cairns
1916–1917 Alexander Poynton 1975 Bill Hayden
1917–1918 John Forrest 1975–1977 Phillip Lynch
1918–1920 William Watt 1977–1983 John Howard
1920–1921 Joseph Cook 1983–1991 Paul Keating
1921–1923 Stanley Bruce 1991 Bob Hawke
1923–1929 Earle Page 1991 John Kerin
1929–1930 Ted Theodore 1991 Ralph Willis
1930–1931 James Scullin 1991–1993 John Dawkins
1931–1932 Ted Theodore 1993–1996 Ralph Willis
1932–1935 Joseph Lyons 1996–2007 Peter Costello
1935–1939 Richard Casey 2007–2013 Wayne Swan
1939–1940 Robert Menzies 2013 Chris Bowen
2013-2015 Joe Hockey

 

We hope you enjoyed our Budget Trivia – we always aim to make finance more interesting for our clients.

We encourage reader feedback on our views in this article. What do you think?