Asylum seekers and refugees held on Nauru under Australia's offshore processing regime say they cannot afford food and are forced to skip meals, despite the Australian government spending £1.5 million per person annually on their detention. The contract with US prison operator MTC Australia, worth £364 million over two years, does not cover food provision.
One asylum seeker, speaking anonymously, said he often skips meals to make his fortnightly stipend of £230 from Australia's home affairs department last. 'We didn't know coming to Australia was a crime. We are being killed every day from lack of access to food,' he said. Another claimed he avoids buying fruit and vegetables due to high import costs on the Pacific island, and described his health as poor.
Currently, 105 men are held on Nauru, with 90 in the community and 15 in the processing centre. A third asylum seeker alleged he was assaulted three times at work and forced to quit, leaving him unable to afford adequate food. He said Nauru police did not help after he was struck repeatedly, and that authorities offered only to return him to his home country, where he fears persecution.
MTC Australia, a subsidiary of US for-profit prison operator Management and Training Corporation, began its latest contract extension on Wednesday, bringing total earnings from the regime to £786 million. The contract was extended without competitive tender or public scrutiny, prompting criticism from parliamentarians and integrity experts. Jana Favero of the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre accused the government of 'breathtaking negligence' over the secretive handling of offshore processing contracts.
