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Assistant Treasurer Josh Frydenberg’s figures were taken form the Intergenerational Report, but we should be wary of economic projections that claim to see 40 years into the future. AAP Image/Joel Carrett

FactCheck: was Australia on a debt trajectory heading to 122% of GDP?

Any forecast 30 years ahead is fraught with uncertainty, so we should be wary of warnings Australia was on a trajectory of debt and deficit heading to 122% of GDP.
It’s hard to know for sure what role climate change played in the intensity of Cyclone Pam. AAP Image/Dave Hunt

FactCheck: is global warming intensifying cyclones in the Pacific?

A causal relationship between cyclone behaviour and anthropogenic global warming is a very real possibility. But most climate scientists hesitate to attribute any single event to global warming.
The number of refugee deaths at sea is on the rise internationally. AAP Image/Scott Fisher

FactCheck: did 1200 refugees die at sea under Labor?

It is broadly correct to say 1200 asylum seekers died at sea under Labor. Globally and in our region, however, more asylum seekers than ever are leaving their country by boat.
Kangaroos are common in some areas but scarce in others. AAP Image/Lukas Coch

FactCheck: are kangaroos at risk?

Are kangaroos in plague proportions, necessitating large-scale killing and a commercial industry, or are they in decline?
It is true that our “headline” (or statutory) corporate tax rate of 30% is higher than that of many other countries. (AAP Image/Dean Lewins)

FactCheck: is Australia’s corporate tax rate not competitive with the rest of the region?

“Well, Jon, the Government’s about to bring in a 1.5% corporate, or company, tax cut from the 1st of July. That’s something that obviously we support, because (the) corporate tax rate at 30% is not competitive…
Tertiary education is of both private and significant public benefit. AAP Image/Julian Smith

Fact Check: is tertiary education of private benefit?

I’ve always argued that tertiary education is a private benefit, I’m happy for taxpayer funding of primary and secondary education but tertiary education results in a higher salary. - Senator David Leyonhjelm…
To find out if the carbon price worked, you have to look at the electricity sector. Paul Hocksenar/Flickr

FactCheck: did carbon emissions fall faster before the carbon price?

Emissions fell by six times the rate in the five years before the carbon tax than they did under the carbon tax. – Environment minister Greg Hunt, The Guardian, January 17, 2015. Australia’s total greenhouse…
To match the US, Australia would have to increase its emissions reduction target to 25% below 2000 levels. AAP Image/Alan Porritt

FactCheck: are Australian and US climate targets the same?

If you use the full Kyoto period — 1990 to 2020 — the US is minus 5% and Australia is almost exactly the same. Environment minister Greg Hunt, Radio National, November 17. *We and the United States are…
Nationals MP George Christensen told Parliament that the hot temperatures of 1896 have been “wiped from the official record”. It’s a bit more complicated than that. AAP Image/Lukas Coch

FactCheck: was the 1896 heatwave wiped from the record?

“How could it be getting hotter … if it was really hotter 118 years ago? It’s relatively simple: the early years are simply wiped from the official record.” – Nationals MP George Christensen, House of…
Australia does have the capacity to produce more electricity than it needs - but that’s not a reason to scale back the Renewable Energy Target. Indigo Skies Photography/Flickr

FactCheck: does Australia have too much electricity?

We have 9,000 megawatts (nine big power stations equivalent) of excess capacity in electricity generation … We have more than 15% overcapacity in generation in Australia - Industry minister Ian Macfarlane…
Rich or poor, being stuck in traffic is always annoying. Shultz6/Wikimedia Commons

FactCheck: do poor people drive less?

“The people that actually pay the most are higher income people, with an increase in fuel excise… The poorest people either don’t have cars or actually don’t drive very far in many cases.” – Treasurer…
A cheap or costly drop? You might be surprised to find out how Australian taxes on petrol compare to overseas. AAP/Andrew Brownbill

FactCheck: do Australians pay high petrol taxes?

UPDATED ON TUESDAY 22 JULY: See editor’s note below for details on the updates. In this year’s federal budget, the Abbott government moved to restart automatically increasing the fuel excise in line with…
It doesn’t matter how you count it, Tony Shepherd’s claim that Australians see doctors 11 times a year just doesn’t add up. AAP/Lukas Coch

FactCheck: does the average Australian go to the doctor 11 times a year?

All Australians, on average, go to the doctor now 11 times per year. I just don’t think we’re that crook. – Tony Shepherd, Commission of Audit Chairman, press conference on the report’s launch, May 1 The…
Former Education Minister Bill Shorten addresses the teachers rally in WA: but did he cut their funding? AAP

FactCheck: did Labor cut $1.2 billion from schools funding?

“I think it’s more than a tad hypocritical of the Labor Party to be campaigning against what it says are cuts to school funding when Bill Shorten as education minister cut $1.2 billion out of school funding…
Education minister Chris Pyne says the Gonski model was addressing a problem that doesn’t really exist in Australian education: equity. AAP Image/ Nikki Short) NO ARCHIVING

FactCheck: is Australian education highly equitable?

“The OECD says that we are a high equity nation in terms of our students… I don’t believe there is an equity problem in Australia.” – Education Minister Christopher Pyne, Lateline interview, 26 November…

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