The cost of housing Immigration Department staff on Christmas Island has blown out by $11 million since December, despite the number of asylum seekers detained on the island falling by more than 430 people in that time.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
or signup to continue reading
Staff working at the Christmas Island detention centre and ''alternative places of accommodation'' - lower-security facilities where families are held - are housed at the Christmas Island Resort, owned by Soft Star Pty Ltd.
The resort, which boasts a fine dining restaurant and nightclub, charges $285 a night for a single room, although the Department of Immigration is charged a bulk-rate for staff staying at the facility.
Owner David Kwon declined to speak to Fairfax Media.
But while the cost of housing detention centre staff has blown out, the number of asylum seekers held at the nearby detention centres has fallen since the Coalition government came into power.
When the government's Operation Sovereign Borders came into effect in September, the centre was at bursting point with 2592 people held, many in temporary tents.
In December, the government raised the cost of an existing contract with Soft Star to house detention centre staff from $21.6 million to $32 million.
Since then the number of asylum seekers detained at Christmas Island has fallen from 2157 people to 1719 people.
The government's contract with Soft Star, which was not put out to public tender, was signed in April 2012 as the number of boats arriving under Labor increased.
Then, Julia Gillard's government counted on spending $7.5 million on staff accommodation between February 2012 and February 2013.
But in December, the Department of Immigration and Border Protection almost tripled the value of the contract, preparing to spend $21.6 million on hotel bills for staff accommodation between February 2012 and February 2014.
It again raised the cost of staff accommodation on February 17, budgeting $24.1 million for hotel bills between February 2012 and May 2014.
Last week it raised the value of the contract to $32 million.
In November, Immigration Minister Scott Morrison said the government wanted to move asylum seekers off Christmas Island, to relieve pressure on the main detention centre, which was damaged by riots in 2011.
An independent report later blamed overcrowding for the troubles.
A spokeswoman for Mr Morrison did not respond to questions about the reasons for the cost blowouts, but said: ''This is an extension of an existing contract between the Department of Immigration and Border Protection and Soft Star Pty Ltd and covers the payment of services already rendered.''
