TRANSCRIPT
Offshore detention is in the headlines again.
A damning report has found the Australian government gave millions to companies suspected of bribery, money laundering, and other criminal activity to deliver the controversial program.
Former ASIO chief Dennis Richardson found the Department of Home Affairs didn’t do its due diligence before awarding contracts for regional processing services in Nauru and Papua New Guinea.
Home Affairs Minister Clare O'Neil blames her Liberal Party predecessor, Peter Dutton, for the alleged misconduct.
"Peter Dutton seems to have seen that there were problems here and asked no questions and got no answers over the decade that he was in power. Now, what was the consequence of that gross failure of due diligence? It was hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars potentially being funneled into running drugs and guns and trafficking in human beings. Now, Peter Dutton is a fraud. He presents himself as a tough guy on the border, but this report today shows that he oversaw a system where hundreds of millions of dollars was potentially used to facilitate criminal conduct. He has to tell us what he knew and when and why he didn't do anything about it."
No individuals have been referred to the Australian Federal Police or the National Anti-Corruption Commission by the review.
Ms O'Neil says the door remains open for potential criminal investigations.
“Dennis Richardson's review, of course leaves open the question of whether there are criminal there is criminal conduct that needs to be investigated. and those investigations would be undertaken by the AFP.”
A report by the Sydney Morning Herald alleged one provider, Radiance International, was awarded a $9.3 million government contract in 2018 to provide accommodation for asylum seekers, despite Mr Dutton being warned by the AFP that its owner was under investigation for alleged bribery of Nauruan politicians.
The report found no evidence of any ministerial involvement in the regional processing contract or procurement decisions.
Report author Dennis Richardson says it's not uncommon for contracts to be granted without ministerial oversight.
"I think, given the nature of the contracts, it's perfectly understandable. If the minister was not, was not advised. I've worked in departments where not all contracts are advised of the minister."
Ian Rintoul from the Refugee Action Coalition says that Mr Dutton's intimate knowledge of the unlawful conduct should make him accountable.
"It's ridiculous that Richardson has said that there's no ministerial involvement or couldn't find any ministerial involvement. Dutton was aware of the allegations, he was aware of the shonky business that was being done. There really does need to be a proper investigation to reveal the extent to which ministers and governments were directly implicated."
The Richardson Review made four recommendations to Home Affairs; one recommendation was redacted.
Dennis Richardson says better communication, and a bit of curiosity, would improve the procurement process.
“I think procurement areas and the intelligence, part of their departments, particularly Home Affairs, need to be better wired than what they are at the moment. Secondly, a bit of curiosity wouldn't go astray, for instance, where you're looking at giving a contract to a company, which has very small, no public profile, and where it is seeking to exercise a contract in an area in which it has no expertise. And on top of all of that, they're about to increase their their annual revenue by 30 fold. I think it's reasonable to expect a department to exercise a degree of curiosity and to do more than the basics."
The government intends to implement all recommendations.
Secretary for Home Affairs, Stephanie Foster, says the department is already addressing the issue.
"They're significant shortcomings, and I think that they've been addressed. And they will continue to be addressed by the processes that we put in place to ensure that that due diligence and that sharing of information is actually dealt with."
The offshore immigration detention scheme has been subject to complaints from human rights organisations since it began.
In 2020 an International Criminal Court prosecutor said the poor conditions appeared to violate international law.
Refugee advocate Ian Rintoul says the physical and psychological effects of the alleged misconduct is still felt today.
"The detention centres themselves were an extraordinary abuse of human rights. And you've got many people who are still suffering the mental health consequences, the physical health consequences of that. We've still got 57 people who are in Papua New Guinea, with no resettlement arrangements. We've got people who are still suffering. There's about 1100 people who were previously on Manus Island or Nauru, who are now in Australia who still haven't got permanent visas and are dealing with the consequence of offshore detention that people after so long still have no permanent visas, no secure future."
In June 2023, the last Nauru detainees were brought to Australia.
The government maintains a detention centre on the island as part of its enduring offshore policy.
While Home Affairs insists the use of corrupt and unethical contractors for offshore processing is a thing of the past, Mr Rintoul believes that corruption and malpractice is inherent to the policy.
"The Richardson Report has really shined some light into the corrupt practices that the Labor Party has been involved in perpetuating. The fact that we've still got an offshore detention sense and Nauru is a guarantee that we're going to see similar corrupt practices that are going to underpin that offshore detention facility."
