Federal minister Angus Taylor has insisted he did not alter figures in a document used to attack the Sydney lord mayor's travel expenses but said he
Labor has referred Mr Taylor to NSW police and accused him of forging a document which claimed City of Sydney council spent $16 million on travel.
The federal energy and emissions reduction minister claimed he took the figures from a council report but on Friday admitted the numbers were wrong, insisting there are different versions of the same report online.
"What is clear now, is that the numbers in that document were not correct," he said in a statement.
"I reject absolutely the suggestion that I, or any members of my staff, altered the document in question; however, I will be writing to the Lord Mayor to offer my apologies for not clarifying those numbers with the City of Sydney before writing to her."
Mr Taylor used the figures to write to mayor Clover Moore questioning her environmental credibility last month.
He also sent the figures to the Daily Telegraph which reported that councillors had spent $1.7 million on international travel and $14.2 million on domestic travel over the past financial year.
The report was based on a computer screenshot of a financial report which Mr Taylor's office had told the newspaper was taken from the council's website on 6 September.
The 2017/18 council report currently available online, as well as previously cached versions, shows international out-of-pocket travel costs such as meals and taxis were only $1728, and domestic costs were $4206.
The document, which Mr Taylor says was on the council website, shows councillors spent "$14.2" on domestic travel and "$1.7" on international travel - without using the word "million".
In his statement on Friday evening Mr Taylor said there are different versions of the same report on the council's website.
"Clearly, given the document and its various drafts and versions, are on the servers of the City of Sydney, only they can prove which documents have existed, and may still currently exist," he said.
Shadow attorney-general Mark Dreyfus earlier wrote to NSW police commissioner Mick Fuller asking him to consider whether the minister had breached the law regarding making a false document with intent to induce a journalist to accept it as genuine.
But Mr Taylor said this was a political smear, accusing Labor of having "dramatically overreached" and saying they had "leaped" to assume the document was forged.
Mr Taylor's office had explored the council's website after it was given a copy of a letter written to Environment Minister Sussan Ley by Cr Moore notifying her that the council had declared a climate emergency,
The council has told AAP its weblogs indicate the report has not been changed since it was originally uploaded.
In a letter to Cr Moore seen by AAP, Mr Taylor cited the multi-million dollar figure saying the council had a real opportunity to reduce its carbon emissions by cutting extravagant air travel.
Cr Moore used Twitter to brand the story a "hatchet job" and "grossly inaccurate".
Labor had wanted Prime Minister Scott Morrison to make the referral to police but he declined, standing by his cabinet colleague.
The Daily Telegraph said in its editorial on Friday it appeared the council was correct in terms of the expenses figure.
"Beyond these facts, much else on this story obviously needs to be uncovered. The Daily Telegraph is pursuing all leads."
