Scott Morrison

“The [government's federal integrity commission] bill has powers of search, it has powers compelling witnesses. It has powers of a royal commission.”

RMIT ABC Fact Check says: Mr Morrison is cherrypicking. Experts told Fact Check there were indeed similarities between the coercive powers of a royal commission and the government's proposed model for a federal anti-corruption commission. For ex…

“Australia is reducing its emissions by around 20 per cent ... Australia has reduced its emissions by more than New Zealand, by more than Canada, by more than the United States, by more than Japan, by more than many countries in Europe.”

RMIT ABC Fact Check says: Mr Morrison's claim is misleading. Most problematic with Mr Morrison's claim is the use of a 2020 figure for Australia ("around 20 per cent"). Mr Morrison's figure accords with data found in Australia's National Greenho…

“There was no authority for the federal government to reject, approve anything in relation to the leasing of [the Port of Darwin].”

RMIT ABC Fact Check says: Mr Morrison's claim is not the full story. The Foreign Investment Review Board determined in 2015 that it had no authority to examine the Darwin port deal — because it fell under exemption provisions of the Foreign Acqu…

“Minister for Senior Australians and Aged Care Services, Richard Colbeck appeared at a Senate Select Committee on COVID-19 "on many, many occasions".”

RMIT ABC Fact Check says: Mr Morrison is wrong. At the time of Mr Morrison's claim on January 28, Senator Colbeck had appeared at only two of 55 public hearings of the Senate Select Committee on COVID-19.

“Australia has "reduced our emissions by more than 20 per cent. There are only four countries in the G20 that have actually done better than Australia on that front".”

RMIT ABC Fact Check says: Mr Morrison's claim is misleading. Data from the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change shows four G20 countries in front of Australia for emissions reductions on 2005 levels (Mr Morrison's chosen startin…

“Businesses have that right to say who can come into their premises. That's what the law says. And that doesn't fall foul of discrimination laws.”

RMIT ABC Fact Check says: Mr Morrison's claim is not the full story. Experts told Fact Check that businesses have the right to set conditions of entry to their premises, including a requirement to be vaccinated. It's also correct that an unvacci…

“Australia's hotel quarantine system has a 99.9 per cent success rate.”

RMIT ABC Fact Check says: Mr Morrison's claim is spin. Experts contacted by Fact Check took issue with his measure of the "success" of hotel quarantine. However, there were differing opinions on which numbers should be used to measure success. S…

“... we know that the economic impact on the global economy means that this pandemic recession is 30 times worse than what we saw in the global financial crisis (GFC).”

RMIT ABC Fact Check says: Mr Morrison is comparing apples and oranges. Economists contacted by Fact Check said Mr Morrison's approach of comparing the size of the GDP contraction in each of the two years was not the normal way of assessing two e…

“[The unemployment benefit] is commensurate with where it sat during the period of the Howard government.”

RMIT ABC Fact Check says: Mr Morrison's claim is exaggerated. As Mr Morrison pointed out, the $50 fortnightly increase in April lifted the payment (excluding the coronavirus supplement) from 37.5 per cent to 41.2 per cent of the minimum wage. Ho…

“It is true that at this stage of our rollout, it is actually better than where Germany was, better than where New Zealand was, better than where South Korea and Japan was ...”

RMIT ABC Fact Check says: Mr Morrison's claim is misleading. When he made his claim during an April 6 media conference, Australia's vaccination program had been underway for 43 days. At that point, a total of 854,983 jabs had been given — equiva…

“COVID-19 case numbers in NSW were higher than the threshold to lift the curfew in Victoria when Mr Morrison made his claim”

RMIT ABC Fact Check says: Yes, NSW case numbers were higher than the Victorian triggers for removing the curfew, but there's more to it than Mr Morrison's claim suggests.

“There was no slavery in Australia when NSW was founded as a colony”

RMIT ABC Fact Check says: Mr Morrison's claim checks out. His claim goes to the question of whether there was slavery when NSW was founded as a colony. As harsh as the new settlement undoubtedly was, the preconditions for slavery — including the…

“New Zealand decided to go a lot further [on COVID-19 restrictions], but I'd note that the outcomes we are getting are actually on a per capita basis actually better than what is happening in New Zealand.”

“The ministry that I announce today maintains the record representation of women in cabinet for an Australian Government, with seven female members of our Cabinet.”

RMIT ABC Fact Check says: Mr Morrison's claim checks out. In nominal terms, no other government has ever had seven women in cabinet, as Mr Morrison has since March. The previous record was six, which was equalled by both Labor and Liberal prime …

“If you're in a public hospital at the moment, all of your cancer treatment is free.”

RMIT ABC Fact Check says: There is more to the story. Public hospitals provide free treatment to cancer patients who are formally admitted as public inpatients. However, public patients may need to pay for other cancer services. In some states a…

“[An electric vehicle] won't tow your trailer. It's not going to tow your boat. It's not going to get you out to your favourite camping spot with your family.”

RMIT ABC Fact Check says: Mr Morrison's claim is in need of a tune up. Right now, there are a handful of electric vehicles available on the Australian market and only around half specify towing capacity. However, those powerful enough to tow a b…

“Social media companies have the capability to write algorithms that can remove hate content within seconds”

RMIT ABC Fact Check says: Mr Morrison's claim is wishful thinking. YouTube and Facebook already use algorithms to detect hate content which is then reviewed by people. But ensuring such material is removed "at a moment's notice" requires a fully…

“The gender pay gap has fallen from 17.2 per cent to 14.5 per cent under the policies of our government.”

RMIT ABC Fact Check says: Mr Morrison's claim is overreach. His numbers check out, although they differ slightly to those from the government agency officially tasked with publishing the gender pay gap. However, they oversimplify what has happen…