Top Liberals including the PM, senior Labor politicians, as well as Nationals, Greens, Pauline Hanson and Clive Palmer have all been caught stretching the truth during the federal election campaign, according to investigations by AAP's new FactCheck team.
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Prime Minister Scott Morrison's claim that the government hadn't "changed anything for those earning on the top tax rate" was not true. AAP FactCheck found there would be benefits for highest-income earners with fewer people paying less tax.
"Based on the government's planned changes, the top tax rate remains at 45 per cent but the number of people in that bracket will change and the amount of tax they pay will change," AAP FactCheck found in its analysis.
Labor's shadow Minister for Finance Jim Chalmers also erred when he claimed "more than one-third of people who present to emergency departments are waiting longer than is clinically recommended".
AAP FactCheck provided Australian Institute of Health and Welfare data from 2017/18 showing that on average 81 per cent of patients presenting to emergency departments were treated on time.
Claims by Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton that Paul Keating mismanaged the economy in 1988 were debunked by AAP FactCheck based on historical financial data and analysis from leading economists.
Labor MP for Lyons Brian Mitchell was also wrong when he claimed not a single new major road project had commenced in Tasmania under the coalition government since 2013, that Labor had not already started.
The National Party's David Littleproud, the Agriculture Minister, claimed Australian farmers produced the world's most environmentally sustainable food and fibre. AAP FactCheck found the Economists Intelligence Unit's Food Sustainability Index ranked Austria first and Australia equal 13th with Japan and South Korea.
United Australia Party leader Clive Palmer's claim that the nuclear reactor at Lucas Heights had been operating for 50 years with no safety issues in the middle of Sydney was also false on several points, with Lucas Heights having at least 10 reported safety issues dating back to 1978.
AAP FactCheck found One Nation leader Pauline Hanson was wrong when she claimed 25 per cent of our land in Tasmania was foreign owned along with 30 per cent in the Northern Territory. The truth is 24.5 per cent of farmland in Tasmania and 27 per cent of agricultural land in the NT is foreign-owned.
And Greens leader Richard Di Natale was somewhat false when he claimed Australia's fastest-growing source of emissions was leaking methane from gas projects. AAP FactCheck found these emissions came from other sources than just gas projects.
All of the AAP FactCheck investigations into comments during the 2019 election campaign can be found at https://factcheck.com.au/
* AAP FactCheck is accredited by the Poynter Institute's International Fact-Checking Network, which promotes best practice through a stringent and transparent Code of Principles. https://factcheck.aap.com.au/
Australian Associated Press
