MTC has been accused of ‘gross negligence’ and ‘egregious security’ failures in the US, and of problems at Parklea prison in NSW.
The federal government is negotiating with a US private prison provider to run offshore processing on Nauru while paying it more than $550,000 a day to begin the work in the interim.
The Department of Home Affairs signed a letter of intent with US multinational Management and Training Corporation (MTC) in early August for “facilities, garrison, reception services in Nauru”. The controversial company is set to replace Canstruct in running regional processing services on Nauru, where just over 90 asylum seekers still live in the community.
While the federal government is continuing to negotiate with MTC, it has already paid it nearly $74 million in less than six months to begin taking over operations on the island. These contracts have now been referred to the auditor-general with concerns surrounding due diligence and lawsuits regarding MTC’s operations in the US.
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