A sixteenfold increase in the original contract without public notification raises allegations of ‘gross mismanagement’ and a process ‘run out of control’

• Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast

A US private prisons operator will receive $157m a year to run Australia’s offshore processing regime in Nauru - currently holding just over 100 people - after the government quietly expanded its contract by more than $350m to three-quarters-of-a-billion dollars.

The two-year extension without prior public notification, or scrutiny of the contract, has raised allegations of “gross mismanagement” and a process “run out of control” from parliamentarians and government integrity experts.

Source: Guardian - World News