Australian politics quiz of the year 2017

1. Bob Katter’s intervention in the same-sex marriage debate became a global hit in November. How often did he claim a person was being torn to pieces by a crocodile in Queensland?

   1. Every three weeks

   2. Every six weeks

   3. Every three months

   4. Every six months

2. MPs and senators were accused of having dual citizenship of many countries in 2017. Who was initially drawn into the saga because her mother was born in Ecuador?

   1. NXT’s Skye Kakoschke-Moore

   2. The National party’s Fiona Nash

   3. The Greens’ Larissa Waters

   4. Labor’s Katy Gallagher

3. 

   Tony Abbott was very cross about Macklemore performing at the NRL grand final. Who did he suggest would have been more appropriate?

   1. Angry Anderson

   2. John Farnham

   3. John Williamson

   4. Daryl Braithwaite

4. Malcolm Turnbull had a fraught phone conversation with Donald Trump in January. At one point Trump said asylum seekers were “not going to be wonderful people who go on to work for the local milk people”. What did Turnbull reply?

   1. “It is not because they are bad people”

   2. “I wouldn’t be so sure about that”

   3. “Can I return to the issue of the resettlement agreement?”

   4. “What do you mean ‘milk people’?”

5. Pauline Hanson said she had turned down an invitation to go to Donald Trump’s inauguration in January. Who did she say needed her attention more urgently?

   1. The cane growers of north Queensland

   2. Battlers doing it tough in Logan

   3. Tourist operators on the Barrier Reef

   4. The sacked workers at Townsville’s Queensland Nickel plant

6. The NSW Young Liberals were ridiculed for a Facebook post urging consumers to ignore calls to boycott Streets ice-cream products in November. What was their hashtag?

   1. #gaytimegathering

   2. #magnummeeting

   3. #cornettocaucus

   4. #paddlepopparty

7. The prime minister said it was “part of a deeply disturbing and totalitarian campaign” and compared it to “what Stalin did”. What was he talking about?

   1. Triple J moving the Hottest 100 away from Australia Day

   2. Activists defacing the statue of James Cook in Sydney

   3. The sacking of a Canberra contractor for opposing same-sex marriage

   4. GetUp’s campaign against Adani’s Carmichael coalmine

8. 

   Which of these things did not happen to Jacinda Ardern after she became prime minister of New Zealand?

   1. Donald Trump reportedly mistook her for Justin Trudeau’s wife

   2. Her cat Paddles was killed by a car

   3. She sent a video to Ed Sheeran grilling him about his knowledge of New Zealand

   4. She was asked whether she planned to have children

9. During the Bennelong byelection, John Alexander proudly referred to his role in bringing new leisure facilities to the electorate. What were they?

   1. Table-tennis tables

   2. Public mah-jong rooms

   3. Giant chess sets

   4. Designated tai chi areas in local parks

10. Scott Morrison sketched out a dismal vision of Australia under a Labor government in a speech in September. What did he say the ALP wanted to throw over the economy?

    1. A renewable energy shroud

    2. A big, soggy tax blanket

    3. A magic spending carpet

    4. A stifling doona of regulation

11. Which MP defended the use of taxpayer funds to put out a colouring-in book featuring pictures of their partner and their dog?

    1. Cathy McGowan

    2. Richard Di Natale

    3. Tim Wilson

    4. Fiona Nash

12. The Labor MP Graham Perrett made global headlines by knocking himself unconscious while laughing at an American TV show. Which one?

    1. Saturday Night Live

    2. Full Frontal with Samantha Bee

    3. Fox and Friends

    4. Veep

13. 

    Kevin Andrews memorably introduced his “cycling mates” to the same-sex marriage debate. How did he describe his relationship with them?

    1. Intimate

    2. Meaningful

    3. Affectionate

    4. Tempestuous

14. Which federal politician admitted they had taken their staff to a sex shop to buy “Christmas trinkets”?

    1. Christopher Pyne

    2. Jacqui Lambie

    3. Bob Katter

    4. Pauline Hanson

15. Mark Ellis resigned as a Queensland One Nation candidate in April. What was his most colourful contribution?

    1. He said the Port Arthur massacre was a fabrication

    2. He mowed a swastika into his lawn

    3. He said single mothers were “undoing the work of possibly 3m years of evolutionary pressure”

    4. He accused the gay community of using “Nazi-style mind control” to achieve marriage equality

16. Who sacked Mark Latham in 2017?

    1. Sky News

    2. The Daily Telegraph

    3. The Spectator

    4. All of the above

17. 

    “Hooley dooley – rightio!” What event was Barnaby Joyce referring to?

    1. The high court’s verdict on his citizenship

    2. A $40,000 cheque given to him by Gina Rinehart for being a champion of agriculture

    3. The hat-flicking incident at a pub during the New England byelection

    4. The news that Johnny Depp had intentionally flouted Australia's biosecurity laws when bringing his dogs into the country

18. Which federal politician took to the catwalk at Australian fashion week in May, describing her look as "stunned mullet"?

    1. Anne Aly

    2. Julie Bishop

    3. Lisa Singh

    4. Sarah Hanson-Young

19. In September a top-selling newspaper accused Malcolm Turnbull of “self-righteously blah blah blahing”. Which country was it from?

    1. New Zealand

    2. The Philippines

    3. China

    4. Australia

20. After Malcolm Young’s death in November, what did Malcolm Turnbull say was his favourite AC/DC song?

    1. It’s a Long Way to the Top

    2. Highway to Hell

    3. TNT

    4. He couldn’t name one

Solutions

1:C - Despite his stated willingness to "let a thousand blossoms bloom", Katter was one of only four MPs who eventually voted against the equal marriage legislation, 2:D - Gallagher is not a citizen of Ecuador, despite some media claims. But she has referred herself to the high court because she was a British citizen at the time of nomination, 3:B - Abbott said it was a "good question" why Farnham had not been invited, while also revealing his preference for Savage Garden and the Traveling Wilburys, 4:B - So far none have gone on to work for the local milk people, 5:A - Hanson insisted they were "getting no satisfaction" from Barnaby Joyce, 6:C - The post quickly received more than 2,000 "angry" reactions, 7:B - Turnbull went on to question whether Roman inscriptions of slaves chained to chariots meant modern Italians endorsed slavery. "Or chariots", 8:D - She was, but that was before she became PM, 9:A - It worked, didn't it?, 10:B - No one wants that, 11:C - Wilson and his partner (now fiance) Ryan were pictured strolling through the Bentleigh shopping precinct with their pugs, Ella and Louis, 12:D - Julia Louis-Dreyfus tweeted that she was "having a hard time believing it", 13:C - But only up to a point, obviously, 14:B - "We have pretty good morale in our office," Lambie said, 15:B - As you do, 16:A - Latham questioned whether a high school student involved in a video about International Women's Day was "gay", 17:B - Then he had to give it back, 18:A - Aly said she had also practised other signature looks in parliament, including “deer in the headlights” and “what you talkin’ bout Willis”, 19:C - The Global Times, part of the People's Daily group, said Turnbull's comments about North Korea were "indiscreet" and "absurd", 20:D - Un-Australian

Scores

1. 16 and above.

   Outstanding. You should probably get out more.

2. 11 and above.

   Solid result. You are the Anthony Albanese of politics quiz responders.

3. 6 and above.

   A bit careless. Your result bears certain similarities to the Centrelink robodebt system.

4. 0 and above.

   Modest. We'd say you know less about politics than Malcolm Roberts knew about renouncing citizenship, but you wouldn't get it.