In a time of slippery weasel words and ‘alternative facts’, we are delighted to see the return of the ABC fact-checking unit in collaboration with RMIT.
Energy and Environment Minister Josh Frydenberg speaking on Q&A.
ABC
Energy and Environment Minister Josh Frydenberg said he thought that Victorians have never felt more unsafe, and that burglaries, assaults and murders are rising year-on-year. Is he right?
Shadow minister for education Tanya Plibersek said Australia is slightly below the international average on funding for schools.
AAP/Richard Milnes
Tanya Plibersek, shadow minister for education, told reporters recently that Australia is slightly below average when it comes to international funding for our schools. Is that right?
Was World Vision Australia chief advocate Tim Costello right to say that Australia’s foreign aid spending was at its highest under Menzies, at 0.5% of gross national income?
AAP Image/Royal Australian Air Force, CPL Jessica de Rouw
The education minister says that under Labor there were child care price spikes of up to 14% over a 12 month period, but under the Coalition those have fallen to “around 6% on average”. Is that right?
The Conversation published 29 FactChecks over the eight week federal election campaign.
Mick Tsikas/AAP
Sunanda Creagh, The Conversation and Lucinda Beaman, The Conversation
Bald-faced lies are fairly rare in Australian politics but, in 2016, weasel-words and cherry-picking were common. Politicians and public figures are experts at disguising opinion and ideology as fact.
How does Australia’s economic growth shape up against the G7 countries?
AAP Image/Joe Castro
Ahead of the Mid Year Economic and Fiscal Outlook, minister for defence industries Christopher Pyne said a lot of jobs were created in 2016 and Australia has the highest growth rate in the G7. Is that true?
Who got their facts right in 2016?
Chris Zissiadis, urbanlight photography
Was shadow minister for communications Michelle Rowland right when she said Australia’s level of media ownership concentration is one of the highest in the world?
Antibiotic use is a big issue as the more we use, the more likely bugs are to grow resistant, rendering them useless.
AAP Image/Mick Tsikas
If the site is increasingly where people are getting their news, what could the company do without taking up the mantle of being a final arbiter of truth?
Was Barnaby Joyce’s international comparison correct?
AAP Image/Mick Tsikas
Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce said backpackers would be better off working in Australia with a 19% tax than in New Zealand, England and Canada. Is that true? And what would a 15% or 10.5% tax mean?
Writer and actor Nakkiah Lui, speaking on Q&A.
Q&A
After Australia announced a refugee deal with the US, Labor’s Kate Ellis told Q&A that millions of dollars were spent on an earlier deal with Cambodia, yet very few lives were changed. Is that right?