The Abbott Government wants to restrict any intake of Syrian refugees to minorities which are largely Christian.
Prime Minister Tony Abbott is under increasing pressure to increase this year’s humanitarian intake of 13,750 people, but has put off a decision while Australia consults with the United Nations about the best approach.
Key points:
* Government wants to restrict intake to minorities, mainly Christian
* Julia Bishop nominates minorities like the Yazidis
* Bill Shorten warns putting emphasis on one religion is “dangerous
* Backbencher says some Coalition members want “no more Muslim men”
Labor is pushing for an additional intake of 10,000 people, while the Greens want double that number.
Beyond the debate over numbers there is an argument over what kind of refugees should be accepted.
Government ministers, like Malcolm Turnbull, have argued for accepting more Syrian Christians, and Foreign Minister Julie Bishop has nominated minorities like the Yazidis.
One backbencher told the ABC the message being sent to the Prime Minister by some in the Coalition was clear: “No more Muslim men”.
Mr Turnbull said yesterday he was very concerned 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 highlighted the case for 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.”
