Interactive: Federal budgets under the microscope

How will this budget stack up against previous ones? Dive into our interactive and take a look at an overview of every government's spending from 1996 onwards.

Joe Hockey hands down his first budget as Treasurer tonight and already he's told the Australian people it will be a tough but necessary one, as the government seeks to cut spending significantly.

Now, with the SBS budget interactive, you can take a look at the government's spending decisions in historical context.

Click on each year and mouse-over each bubble for more details.