Lucy Gichuhi says sorry for posting fake news about African students

A Liberal senator has apologised after posting on Facebook that “up to” 10,000 African students would receive federal scholarships, which prompted a furious reaction from Pauline Hanson.

Lucy Gichuhi – a Liberal senator of Kenyan descent – was forced to apologise when she realised she had got the figures about the $320m scholarship program wrong.

In fact, this year 4,000 international students would receive scholarships at a total cost of $320m. Of those, 495 were going to African students at a cost of $31.8m.

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On Wednesday morning Gichuhi retracted the post. “Despite the best efforts in checking the information, the office has been a victim of fake news,” the senator said in a further statement on Facebook. “We apologise for any inconvenience.”

An hour after Gichuhi retracted her comment, Hanson told 2GB Radio she still believed the 10,000 figure was “fair dinkum” and she had asked the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade to “please explain”.

She suggested the money could be better spent on children in Gichuhi’s state of South Australia who “need a helping hand” or “the farmers on the bones of their backside trying to deal with the drought”.

“We’re worried about kids overseas? I’m sick and tired of this, this is what I’m constantly fighting for: a fair go for Australians.”

Hanson reportedly told SBS News that the “government might want to call it fake news but the price tag looks very real”.

The foreign minister, Julie Bishop, issued a statement saying that since 2011 Australia had provided more than 4,800 awards to applicants from 51 African countries.

“This year the Australian government is providing more than 4,000 Australia awards to emerging leaders from more than 40 countries in Asia, the Pacific, Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean,” she said. “This includes an estimated 495 awards in total, to be offered in 22 African countries with an estimated cost of $31.8m in 2018.”

Hanson then claimed her intervention in the debate had “forced the government to correct the record”.

“Bishop confirms Australia is spending $320m a year on 4,000 scholarships for international students not, as it previously claimed, 10,000 African students,” she said on Twitter.

Pauline Hanson 🇦🇺 (@PaulineHansonOz) SCHOLARSHIP SCANDAL | @PaulineHansonOz forces Gov to correct the record.



Bishop confirms Australia is spending $320 million a year on 4,000 scholarships for international students not, as it previously claimed, 10,000 African students. #auspolhttps://t.co/D6zCaWkFcR

On 2GB Hanson had questioned why the federal government spent $3.9bn on foreign aid when Australia’s debt was $550bn and criticised Labor and the Greens for their plans to increase foreign aid.

Bishop said the Australia award gave recipients skills that helped drive economic and social development in their home countries.

The foreign minister also stressed the benefits to Australia including future relations with the scholars’ home countries, job creation in Australia and the ability to showcase the Australian education sector to attract international students.