The story by Steve Lewis in today's Daily Telegraph, Herald Sun, Adelaide Advertiser and Courier Mail claiming bottled water and fruit snacks for school students visiting Parliament House have been cut is completely wrong.
It is entirely incorrect to say that a single dollar of estimated $235,000 cost of the service has been cut from the House of Representatives hospitality program.
This service has not been cut and to suggest otherwise is dishonest and grossly inaccurate.
The parliamentary departments have confirmed that the program has not been cut - bottled water and fruit snacks will continue to be provided to students who visit Parliament House to learn about our political system.
Despite this, News Limited papers have decided to run this fabrication of a story, including The Daily Telegraph which placed it on page one.
It is also grossly irresponsible and sloppy of Shadow Treasurer Joe Hockey to criticise the program being cut while failing to check the facts about the program.
Given how these newspapers have misled their readers, papers which published the story should publish a correction of equal prominence tomorrow morning, which for The Daily Telegraph means page one.