The Abbott Government wants to limit any intake of Syrian refugees to minorities which are largely Christian, as passions run high in the Coalition over the way Australia should handle the crisis in Syria.
Prime Minister Tony Abbott is under pressure to increase this year's humanitarian intake of 13,750 people, but has postponed a decision while Australia consults with the United Nations about what to do with the refugees.
Labor is pressuring to increase the intake of 10,000 people, while the Greens want 20,000.
There is also a debate over numbers what kind of refugees Australia should be accept.
Government ministers, like Malcolm Turnbull, want more Syrian Christians, while Foreign Minister Julie Bishop has asked for minorities like the Yazidis.The Abbott Government wants to restrict any intake of Syrian refugees to minorities which are largely Christian, as passions run high in the Coalition over the way Australia should handle the crisis in Syria.
Mr Turnbull has expressed concern about the plight of Christian communities in Syria.
"They are a minority, they survived in Syria, they've been there for thousands of years, literally since the time of Christ," he said.
"But in an increasingly sectarian Middle East, you have to ask whether the, the gaps, the spaces that they were able to live and survive in will any longer be available."
Senate Leader Eric Abetz has also wants Christians to be prioritised.
"It should be on the basis of need and given the Christians are the most persecuted group in the world, and especially in the Middle East, I think it stands to reason that they would be pretty high up on the priority list for resettlement."
Ms Bishop wants to offer both temporary and permanent protection options for those fleeing the crisis.
"I think that Christian minorities are being persecuted in Syria and even if the conflict were over they would still be persecuted," she said.
"So I believe there will be a focus on ensuring we can get access to those persecuted ethnic and religious minorities who will have no home to return to even when the conflict is over.
"That includes Maronites, it includes Yazidis, there are Druze, there are a whole range of ethnic and religious minorities that make up the populations in both Syria and Iraq."
Labor believes emphasis on helping Christian refugees is "dangerous"
"Being a victim of war doesn't know a particular religion," Opposition Leader Bill Shorten said.
"If you're a woman facing terrible crimes to be committed against you, if you're a child, a little child, potentially drowning at sea, I'm not interested in their religion, I'm interested in their safety."
Refugee Council chief executive Paul Power said it is "natural" to expect a large number of refugees will be Christian, but focusing on the group is likely to do damage.
"I'm sure one of the consequences is that extremists within Syria and other parts of the Middle East will use this as a weapon against Syrian Christians," Mr Power said.
"They would use it as an argument to push the view that the west cares about Christians and does not care about Muslims and other religious minorities."
Coalition MPs, in this morning's party room meeting, suggested the Government fast-track a planned increase in the number of refugees it accepts.
Cabinet will discuss the issue tomorrow morning and there is a suggestion the party room may meet again before an announcement is made.
Speaking from Europe, Mr Dutton said he would hold talks with the United Nations refugee agency and other organisations on how Australia could help.
"There's more to be done and the Australian Government's very keen to have discussions with the UNHCR, with our partners otherwise, to look at what more we can do," he said.
"We'll be focusing our attention particularly on the families who are in the refugee camps along the border of Lebanon, Jordan, Turkey."
Liberal backbencher Cory Bernardi said persecuted minorities must be the focus on Australia's efforts.
"The Christians in the Middle East are among the most persecuted people on Earth," he told the Senate.
"If we can provide safe haven to them, then I say we should do it. And that is what the Prime Minister has said."
Senator Bernardi also questioned the motivation of thousands of those who are trying to enter Europe.
"This seems to me to be becoming an opportunistic cycle which is masking the true humanitarian need that is the responsibility of all Western nations," he said.
"That is the challenge for us — to distinguish between those who are being opportunistic and those are truly in need."
Richard Marles has described Senator Bernardi as an "embarrassment" to the Government and his comments "reprehensible" and out of kilter with community sentiment.
Government backbencher Ewen Jones said Australia had the capacity to take up to 50,000 refugees.
But the calls for ever larger intakes were rebuffed by another Coalition backbencher, Andrew Nikolic.
"We will do this is an evidence-based way," he said.
"We're not going to do it in a way with this rhetoric of trying to out-compassion each other."
Original Article by political reporter Anna Henderson and political editor Chris Uhlmann ABC
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