Home affairs denies it was ‘desperate’ when $423m Manus Island contract awarded

Posted on February 18, 2019 by Admin

Mike Pezzullo admits department faced ‘urgent’ circumstances when deal done with little known firm Paladin

The head of the department of home affairs concedes bureaucrats awarded a controversial $423m contract to Paladin to provide services on Manus Island because of an “urgent” set of circumstances, but Mike Pezzullo denies he was “desperate”.

Officials from the home affairs department told estimates on Monday they were, in essence, forced to conduct a closed tender process for the contract because the government of Papua New Guinea advised the then Turnbull government in July it could not provide services it had signalled it would provide because it had entered a caretaker period.

Labor issues please explain over Paladin’s $420m Manus contract

Posted on February 16, 2019 by Admin

Penny Wong says it’s ‘deeply concerning’ a company with ‘such a poor track record’ was awarded a lucrative sum through closed tender

Penny Wong has indicated Labor will target the Paladin offshore detention security contract in Senate estimates this week, accusing the government of failing to explain why the company was awarded $420m in contracts through closed tender.

The Australian Financial Review has reported that Paladin Group’s $420m of contracts to provide security to refugees on Manus Island in Papua New Guinea was extended by the home affairs department in January after a closed tender process.

Labor starts fightback on border security as medical evacuation bill passes Senate – as it happened

Posted on February 13, 2019 by Admin

Labor, the Greens, Tim Storer, Derryn Hinch and the Centre Alliance vote in favour of the refugee transfer legislation. This blog has now closed.

7.30am GMT

That is where we will leave you today. It’s been a big week and after the last few days, I think we all need a bex and a lie down.

Obviously, for me, when I say bex, I mean vodka, but insert whatever self-care aid is necessary.

7.10am GMT

From the valedictories

What happened to the deal – and the refugees – surviving Australian and US politics? | Anne Richard

Posted on January 28, 2019 by Admin

I signed the agreement to resettle some of Australia’s refugees from Nauru and Manus Island in the US. I wanted to see how they are faring now

Two years ago, Australia’s then prime minister Malcolm Turnbull called to congratulate Donald Trump on his inauguration, and to elicit the new president’s support for continuing an agreement between Australia and the US. Australia had stopped thousands of asylum seekers from reaching its shores and had arranged to detain them on islands in the South Pacific; the US had agreed to resettle some in America. The transcript of the phone conversation makes clear that the deal was a top priority for Turnbull and an unwelcome surprise for Trump, who called it “a rotten deal”.