Explosive whistleblower testimony exposes corruption, secrecy and cruelty at the heart of offshore detention

The Asylum Seeker Resource Centre (ASRC) is demanding answers from the Albanese Government following explosive new whistleblower revelations aired on 60 Minutes tonight, exposing corruption, cover-ups and criminal infiltration at the heart of Australia’s offshore detention regime.

A senior Home Affairs official, Dr Derek Elias, has risked jail to speak out about systemic rorting and graft in the Nauru detention system – detailing how millions in taxpayer funds were funnelled through secretive contracts to enrich private companies and corrupt officials.

His testimony follows that of former Australian soldier Oisin Donohoe, who revealed that members of the Finks bikie gang had been contracted to run security operations under Australia’s latest $2.5 billion offshore deal with Nauru.

The whistleblowers’ evidence paints a devastating picture of a government system “enabling corruption,” where millions of dollars were paid for services “no longer required or delivered,” and where Home Affairs officials were pressured to cover up wrongdoing to keep the offshore system running at any cost. Tens of millions of dollars have allegedly flowed to companies linked to bikie gangs and corrupt Nauruan politicians. Contractors have allegedly used public funds to pay for luxury cars, art, mansions and yachts.

These whistleblower revelations reveal a web of secrecy and cover-ups that have plagued offshore detention for more than a decade and continues today, where public money disappears into private hands while people seeking asylum are abused at the hands of dodgy detention operators. 

Around 100 people remain trapped on Nauru today under Australia’s offshore processing arrangements, and 32 remain in Papua New Guinea. Those in Papua New Guinea are deprived of healthcare and experiencing serious health and mental health issues. Those in Nauru are skipping meals because they cannot afford to eat and face violence when trying to fish for survival. 

Tonight’s revelations confirm a long-standing pattern of abuse and secrecy condemned by UN bodies and international human rights organisations for over a decade, including hundreds of cases of sexual assault, child self-harm, and systemic neglect. As 60 Minutes and Transparency International made clear, the Albanese Government knows taxpayer money is being rorted and is choosing to ignore it. The government knows the risks of corruption, it knows the suffering offshore detention causes, yet it keeps the system alive for political gain.

The ASRC is calling on the Albanese Government to release all contracts and correspondence related to offshore processing and the new Nauru deal, bring every person trapped on Nauru and in Papua New Guinea to safety in Australia, and to finally end offshore detention and deportations to Nauru for good, in favour of a humane, transparent onshore system that upholds Australia’s obligations under international law.

Kon Karapanagiotidis, CEO at the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre said:

“What we saw on 60 Minutes last night was shocking – dodgy deals, corrupt contracts, and people’s lives being traded in secret. People deserve to know the truth about where their money is going, not to have the wool pulled over their eyes by a government who is happy to waste billions of dollars for political gain. 

“Over the past decades but still today, under Anthony Albanese’s watch, people are detained, exiled and dehumanised while private contractors and corrupt officials enrich themselves. Offshore processing doesn’t just destroy the lives of those detained – it corrupts the very institutions meant to protect our democracy and humanity.”

Ogy Simic, Head of Advocacy at the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre said:

“People are being abducted from their homes in the middle of the night – taken from their communities, their friends and families, with no warning and no chance to defend themselves. The Albanese Government has given itself sweeping powers to deport people in secret, without transparency or natural justice. We don’t even know who has been sent to Nauru or under what conditions, because the Government refuses to tell us. This cruelty is happening in our name – and it has to stop.”

Betelhem Tebebu, refugee formerly detained on Nauru said:

“Still I am like a cracked mirror trying to collect all the pieces and put myself back together. Offshore detention hurt us so badly that it takes many years to recover. Still I am struggling now after everything I went through, doing my best to rebuild my life.”

Dr Monique Ryan, federal independent member for Kooyong said:

“I applaud the courage of Oisin Donohoe and Dr Derek Elias in shining a light on secretive and concerning practices surrounding Home Affairs’ management of offshore processing and the government’s multi-billion dollar deal with Nauru.

“Labor is already on the back foot over the infiltration of the CFMEU by bikie gangs. Now, it’s seemingly looking away from taxpayers’ money being used to pay members of the Finks to help Nauru run security operations to manage the NZYQ cohort as part of a secretive $2.5bn deal.

“The government must release all documents relating to its agreements with other nations for the offshore rehousing of individuals who have sought to settle in Australia. We need to know that our duty of care to those individuals is being exercised, and that taxpayers’ money is being spent responsibly and ethically.”

Sanmati Verma, Human Rights Law Centre, Legal Director at the Human Rights Law Centre said:

“For decades, the policy of warehousing refugees and migrants on Nauru has been built on wholesale corruption and lies sold to the public. Its only beneficiaries have been multimillion dollar companies and governments interested in buying another term no matter what the cost in either dollars or human lives. 

Just weeks ago, the Albanese government changed the law so that it could deport people to Nauru without notice, and without having to consider what they would face once they got there. It knows that, by sending people to Nauru, it is likely sending them to their deaths. After today, we cannot claim ignorance of what this government is trying to do in our name.”

For media inquiries or to request an interview, call:

Natasha Blucher, Asylum Seeker Resource Centre, 0412 034 821