The man who exposed corruption in offshore detention

At its height more than 1000 people were being held on Nauru, as part of Australia’s offshore detention system. Now, that figure is less than 100 – yet the government continues to pay outsized and exorbitant fees on contracts no longer fit for purpose.
Dec 01, 2025, updated Dec 01, 2025

At its height, in 2014, more than 1000 people were being held on Nauru, as part of Australia’s offshore detention system.

In the decade since, that figure has shrunk to less than 100.

Yet the Department of Home Affairs continues to pay outsized and exorbitant fees on contracts no longer fit for purpose – all in the name of keeping Manus Island and Nauru off the front page and out of the minds of most Australians.

Now, one of the men responsible for administering these deals, worth billions, has spoken out about the alleged corruption at the heart of our system – and the bipartisan silence that allows it to continue.

Today, independent journalist Nick Feik, on the whistleblower and the waste in the Department of Home Affairs.

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