“We have net debt more than doubling since the Liberals came to office. It's just hit a record high, some $350 billion.”
What RMIT ABC Fact Check found
Yes, Dr Leigh's claim is correct, but there's more to it. The Government's monthly financial statements show net debt has doubled over the Coalition's two terms in government — from $174.6 billion in September 2013, when it was first elected, to $354.5 billion in October 2018. However, this is not the only way to track net debt. Measured as a share of gross domestic product, which takes the size of the economy into account, net debt grew more slowly over the five years to June 2018 compared t...
Their words, from the summary they publish with the rating.
In short
Andrew Leigh (Shadow assistant treasurer) made this claim around 27 November 2018. RMIT ABC Fact Check (Australia) looked into it and published its finding on 11 December 2018, 14 days later. Its rating was “Yes, but more to it”.
Where the claim appeared
Links recorded by RMIT ABC Fact Check. Some posts may have been deleted since.
This check was done by RMIT ABC Fact Check, not by DoesItStand. We list it so you can find it. Their full evidence and reasoning are in their article.