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Posted June 15, 2016 16:59:36 | Updated June 15, 2016 17:01:48
Opposition Leader Bill Shorten has confirmed that Labor will not be scrapping the GST on tampons if elected, despite a concerted campaign from the public to do so — a backflip from a previous position.
"In terms of the GST on tampons, in an ideal world we would scrap that. But in order to do that you have to get the concurrence of state premiers," Mr Shorten told a press conference on June 10, 2016.
Fact Check has already tested claims on whether state assent would be needed to change the GST.
Curiously, these claims came from the other side of the political divide — from former treasurer Joe Hockey and former prime minister Tony Abbott, when they still occupied those positions.
Topics:
tax,
federal-elections,
alp
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Posted May 16, 2016 17:00:39 | Updated May 16, 2016 17:11:08
As the election campaign begins, the Coalition seems intent on making Labor's proposed changes to negative gearing an election issue.
At the first leaders debate on May 16, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull told an audience of 100 undecided voters that Labor's policy would push up rents.
Asked by moderator David Speers how the Prime Minister knew this would happen, Mr Turnbull said that it would cause investors to leave the market, and that "the investors that are left will have to seek a higher return and this is exactly what happened, in the '80s, when Paul Keating banned negative gearing..."
Fact Check tested a similar claim from former treasurer Joe Hockey in 2015, which didn't stack up.
Topics:
tax,
housing,
liberals,
turnbull-malcolm,
australia
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Posted April 20, 2016 06:24:38 | Updated April 21, 2016 13:38:55
As Australia heads towards a possible double dissolution election on July 2, Deputy Liberal Leader Julie Bishop has sought to attack Labor's economic record.
"We've never seen such record levels of debt and deficit as were bequeathed to us by the former Rudd-Gillard-Rudd Government, and Bill Shorten was part of all of that," she told Sky News on April 19.
It's not the first time Ms Bishop has made this claim.
Topics:
budget,
australia
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Posted March 30, 2016 06:15:34 | Updated March 30, 2016 09:49:12
Federal MP for the Queensland seat of Fairfax, Clive Palmer, has used Question Time to push the Government to allow people to access part of their super early, to "buy a home or support their family in difficult times."
Mr Palmer claimed that "A large percentage of Australians will be dead before they are eligible [to use their super]."
Mr Palmer made a similar claim in 2014, which Fact Check found to be wrong.
Topics:
superannuation,
tax,
clive-palmer,
minor-parties,
australia
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Posted March 24, 2016 07:10:05 | Updated March 24, 2016 10:57:16
In 2015, Australia went to the Paris climate conference with a reduction target of 26 to 28 per cent of its 2005 emissions by 2030.
Minister for Resources, Energy and Northern Australia, Josh Frydenberg, characterised this target as "extremely significant" on ABC TV's Q&A.
"The target we took to Paris which was to reduce our emissions by 26 to 28 per cent on 2005 levels by 2030, saw the second highest target taken to Paris on a per capita basis," he said.
Fact Check tested a similar claim from Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull before the Paris conference in 2015 — that claim was found to be incorrect.
Topics:
climate-change,
pollution,
liberals,
australia
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Posted March 22, 2016 14:05:49 | Updated March 22, 2016 15:34:32
Debate over the Government's Senate voting reforms resulted in a war of words between the Coalition and the Greens, who supported the reforms in the Senate, and Labor and some of the crossbench, who tried to block them.
Opposition frontbencher Anthony Albanese told ABC TV's Lateline that crossbench Senator Ricky Muir "got more votes than Michaelia Cash in the Senate, who got to be a minister in the Government."
But Fact Check found that a similar claim, made in a tweet by independent crossbencher John Madigan, was misleading.
Topics:
federal-elections,
australia
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Posted February 22, 2016 13:24:09 | Updated February 22, 2016 16:41:56
The debate around potential changes to negative gearing has re-entered the public debate, after Labor announced its policy to pare back the practice.
The Government has not yet made an announcement on any potential plans for negative gearing, but the Property Council of Australia has indicated it is firmly opposed to any changes.
"You know, we saw what happened when the Hawke government changed negative gearing practices back in the 1980s. Well, these changes are far wider than that," he said.
"At that time we saw rents go up."
But Fact Check found a that similar claim, made by then-treasurer Joe Hockey in April, 2015, didn't stack up.
Topics:
tax,
housing,
australia
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Posted February 19, 2016 16:10:54 | Updated February 22, 2016 13:05:42
He may no longer be prime minister, but that hasn't stopped Tony Abbott's campaign against same-sex marriage.
On January 28, 2016, Mr Abbott gave a speech to the Alliance Defending Freedom, a conservative American Christian organisation which is opposed to same-sex marriage.
"We shouldn’t try to change something without understanding it, without grasping why it is that one man and one woman open to children until just a very few years ago has always and everywhere been considered the essence of marriage..." he said.
But ABC Fact Check found a similar claim, made by Mr Abbott in 2013, was incorrect.
Topics:
marriage,
law-crime-and-justice,
australia
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Video
Posted December 12, 2014 14:51:49
Which claim has received the inaugural Golden Zombie award for 2014?
Topics:
australia
-
Video
Posted November 28, 2014 16:04:36 | Updated June 27, 2016 15:49:17
The Coalition claims Labor left the country with a debt of $667 billion. But Fact Check found that's not really the case.
Topics:
government-and-politics,
australia
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Video
Posted November 21, 2014 12:52:14
Indian prime minister Narendra Modi says India has one of the most secure and safe nuclear energy programs in the world. ABC Fact Check found this claim to be exaggerated.
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Video
Posted October 31, 2014 12:53:59 | Updated November 18, 2014 10:07:59
Prime Minister Tony Abbott says Australia will have the world's biggest medical research endowment fund, but Fact Check found the claim was overblown.
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Video
Posted August 29, 2014 12:43:38
Education Minister Christopher Pyne says university students will earn 75 per cent over a lifetime more than people without a higher education qualification. But Fact Check found that claim was overblown.
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Video
Posted August 22, 2014 00:00:00 | Updated August 22, 2014 12:49:38
Prime Minister Tony Abbott says the Schoolkids Bonus was supposed to be funded by the mining tax. But earlier this year, Fact Check found the bonus was not linked by Labor to the mining tax in any budget.
Topics:
federal-government,
abbott-tony,
australia
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Video
Posted July 24, 2014 00:00:00 | Updated July 24, 2014 13:19:54
PUP leader Clive Palmer says letting companies pay tax at the end of the year would generate billions of dollars for the economy. But Fact Check found it would do little to stimulate the economy. And Social Services Minister Kevin Andrews says people are going to the doctor 11 times a year on average after Fact Check found the figure to be incorrect.
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Video
Posted July 24, 2014 00:00:00 | Updated July 24, 2014 13:19:54
Deputy leader of the Opposition Tanya Plibersek says selling off Medibank Private will lead to an increase in premiums. But Fact Check found there was no evidence to support the claim.
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Video
Posted July 24, 2014 00:00:00 | Updated August 22, 2014 11:31:18
Treasurer Joe Hockey says Australia will have the biggest medical research fund in the world, but Fact Check found this claim was overblown.
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Video
Posted July 24, 2014 00:00:00 | Updated July 24, 2014 13:21:40
The Federal Government says axing the carbon tax will save households $550 a year, but Fact Check found this figure would only be accurate for 2014-15.
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Video
Posted July 23, 2014 00:00:00 | Updated July 24, 2014 13:21:40
Warren Truss, Catherine King and Joe Hockey repeat debunked claims on the carbon tax, hospital funding and the budget deficit.
