Fact Check
Fact check: Did the Government inherit the 'worst set of accounts' in history?
Posted | Updated
Governments have long blamed their predecessors for the state of affairs they inherit, but Liberal Deputy Leader Julie Bishop says the challenge left for Treasurer Joe Hockey set a record.
On March 16 she told ABC Radio that "all areas of the budget have to be considered for savings because we inherited the largest deficits in Australia's history from Labor".
ABC Fact Check investigates how the current government's financial inheritance stacks up.
Topics: government-and-politics, australia
-
The minimum wage
Opposition Leader Bill Shorten says the minimum wage doesn't increase unemployment. ABC Fact Check investigates.
-
The Australian workforce
The future of the way Australians work is again in the spotlight. ABC Fact Check takes a look at the changing face of the workforce.
-
Is Australia living beyond its means?
Treasurer Joe Hockey has warned that Australian debt is at a 'tipping point' and the country is living beyond its means.
-
Death penalty doesn't deter
Victorian Supreme Court judge Lex Lasry says the death penalty does not deter crime.
ABC Fact Check examines the evidence.
-
Child care funding cuts
Opposition Leader Bill Shorten claims the Government has cut $1 billion from childcare funding. Is he right?
-
Children in detention
ABC Fact Check investigates whether the length of time children were held in detention increased after the Coalition took office.
-
Higher education cuts?
The government claims Labor cut $6.6 billion from higher education funding. ABC Fact Check investigates.
-
Fact check: Jobs growth
During his National Press Club address, Prime Minister Tony Abbott said Australia's jobs rate was on the up.
ABC Fact Check investigates.
-
Hockey incorrect on tax
Treasurer Joe Hockey says Australian income tax rates are a disincentive to earn.
How much tax do you pay?
ABC Fact Check takes a look at income tax rates.
Fast facts
- The first Australian state to abolish the death penalty was Queensland, in 1922. The last person executed in the state was Ernest Austin, hanged in 1913, after being convicted of the murder of an 11-year-old girl.
- Between July 2013 and June 2014, 84 people drowned in Australian coastal waters, a 29 per cent drop on the previous year. 89 per cent of those people who drowned were men.
- Cats have been in Australia since European settlement, and may have arrived as early as the 17th century with Dutch shipwrecks.
- British particle physicist Professor Brian Cox was keyboardist in the band D: Ream, which had the 1990s smash hits Things Can Only Get Better and U R The Best Thing.
Key tweets
Posted | Updated
About Fact Check
ABC Fact Check determines the accuracy of claims by politicians, public figures, advocacy groups and institutions engaged in the public debate. More
Connect with Fact Check
Contact
Send us your tip-offs, or let us know what you think.
