The federal government holds the people of Christmas and Cocos Islands in "contempt", according to the Commonwealth's own administrator of the Indian Ocean Territories.

The Territories' Administrator Jon Stanhope has taken the extraordinary move of making an official apology to each resident of the islands, and savaged the conduct of his employer the Department of Infrastructure over its "unacceptable" attitude to the islanders.

Outgoing administrator of Christmas Island Jon Stanhope at Dolly Beach, which is littered with plastic rubbish. Credit:Tony McDonoough

Written pleas sent from the islands to Canberra for help on health, education, economic development and social problems have all been ignored by bureaucrats in the capital for more than a year, according to Mr Stanhope, who will finish his time in the job on Friday after two years.

In his "public apology" to the 2700 permanent residents of the islands, the former Labor Chief Minister of the ACT, included the names and contact details of six senior bureaucrats in the Department of Infrastructure and Regional Development in Canberra he says have ignored the islanders' concerns for more than 12 months.