Opposition frontbencher Senator James Paterson says he has nothing to apologise for after being caught out spruiking a blatantly wrong statistic published in a News Crap Australia story on the key election issue of immigration.

The Victorian Senator’s position was echoed by Ben English, editor of the Murdoch media’s Sydney daily turdbloid The Daily Telegraph which on Tuesday published the erroneously inflated figure which also appeared in other Murdoch outlets. (below)

Senator Paterson (in main picture supplied by his office) rejected a suggestion that he owed the nation an apology for apparently first not checking The Daily Telegraph’s front-page story which wrongly asserted: “More than 21,000 partners and family members of asylum seekers who arrived by boat have been granted permanent Australian visas, new figures show.”

The story was based on an answer to a federal parliamentary question from a Greens MP which said: “Between 13 February 2023 and 30 September 2024, a total of 2,158 partner and other family stream permanent visas have been granted where the applicant’s sponsor held a resolution of status visa”.

In writing the story the Murdoch journalist is understood to have wrongly included a digit indicating a footnote, thereby erroneously making the figure 21,581.

Senator Paterson was quoted extensively in the stories and in other media attacking the Albanese Government’s immigration policies. However, he said he had said nothing that warranted an apology.

“I reject any suggestion that I must apologise, after all the figures I cited were very much the Right figures,” Senator Paterson said.

Mr English also said that as editor he was not required to apologise.

“We corrected the record the very next day with a lengthy and prominent item that provided the correct figures that should have appeared in our page-one story,” Mr English said.

“Well, by News Crap standards it was lengthy and prominent, being on page 20 in about six-point font and did not mention the word ‘correction’.” (below)

Mr English said he stood by his paper’s treatment of the original story and its correction.

“They were both very much in line with our Far Right to No campaign,” Mr English said.

Want to be alerted immediately a new blog hits Australia’s longest running and most offensive satire site? Simply click on the Follow sign or the link below to be emailed new yarns the moment they are uploaded! The very second we go far too far – and trust us we will – you can then quickly unfollow via the three dots!

Follow The Bug Online on WordPress.com