The government's budget has attracted fierce controversy and debate in Parliament since it was introduced on Sunday. Leader of the opposition Rohanite272 fiercely disavowed it in a speech, declaring that it would "lead to a worse education system and less people going to university", while a Commonwealth Party member declared that this budget was "cutting people off from higher education".

All throughout Parliament, one figure was ringing throughout the halls. $7 billion. In a year where learning was more difficult for millions of Australian kids, this government has cut $7 billion from our education system - a shocking statistic that should serve as an indictment on all who helped create this budget and support this government.

That is, it would be, if it were actually true. The Pitchfork News Fact Check team spoke with budgetary experts and hired a consultancy firm to analyse the budget. Our independent analysis has shown a large cut to one facet of education spending - but perhaps not where you might expect. About $6 billion in lower income support for Australians seeking tertiary education was cut in the budget.

Again, this seems damning. But this spending was, as it turns out, highly inefficient and massively underfunded. Even at the lowest bracket, only $541 a year was allocated per person to pay for student loans. For comparison, this budget features $40,040 a year per person in the lowest income bracket. $541 a year isn't even enough to pay for a 3 piece box from KFC each week (for the record - $11.95 a week, $621 a year). If you can't even buy fried chicken, how are you supposed to pay off student loans with that money?

But, still, one might say, a poor program is better than none at all. The government could easily have given this program a cash investment instead of cutting $6 billion from education. The problem is they haven't. In fact, this budget saw the amount of money appropriated to Australian schools go upwards in excess of $1 billion.

It makes Rohanite272's announcement that "this government has decided that students getting a world class education is less important then a high speed rail" particularly jarring, especially given Rohanite272 voted for an infeasible bill earlier this term that would mandate that every capital city in Australia - yes, including Hobart - would be connected by high speed rail. Our consultancy firm costed this in excess of $1 trillion.

And who was this bill written by? Commonwealth Party leader 12MaxWild. How did he propose to pay for it? Cuts from welfare, overhauling the entire system and replacing it with one negative income tax. The trillion the Commonwealth and the SDP seemingly want to spend on high speed rail make the government's $12 billion on an infinitely more feasible Melbourne-Adelaide project seem like pocket change - the same amount of money the Commonwealth Party would spend on an aircraft carrier, but I digress.

When initially seeing the big claims from the opposition, I was shocked that this government would do such a thing. But simple examination of the facts unveils the pure hypocrisy demonstrated by the criticisms Australians have seen over the past few days. This government is certainly not perfect, but when the opposition blatantly lies to further their own agenda, they must be called out.

One day, it seems the opposition is calling for revolutionary plans of high speed rail, the next, decrying it when they think that they can score political points off it. But the truth is the most powerful weapon, and it will always win. No side of politics should be able to get away with mistruths and deception.

- Alison Brooks, Pitchfork News