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Pages tagged "refugees"


Why Australia should protect Coptic families

Posted on Blog by Lyle Shelton · May 27, 2017 3:46 PM

The Australian Christian Lobby today backed calls by Australia’s Coptic Leader, Bishop Suriel, for the Australian Government to offer protection to more than 20 Christian families in the wake of this week’s massacre in Egypt.

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Australia needs to show compassion to the genocide survivors from Iraq and Syria

Posted on Blog by Lyle Shelton · November 21, 2016 1:36 PM

The Australian Christian Lobby has welcomed news the Federal Government would consider expanding Australia’s refugee intake of survivors from the war zones in Iraq and Syria.

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Is helping high risk refugees discrimination?

Posted on Blog by Lyle Shelton · August 16, 2016 3:25 PM

Is it ok to preference high risk refugees?

Foreign Editor of the Australian, Greg Sheridan, states that Christians in the Middle East are one of the highest risk groups, yet preferencing them is seen as discrimination.

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Australia can and should resettle more refugees

Posted on Blog by Lyle Shelton · May 18, 2016 1:01 PM

The Australian Christian Lobby has renewed its longstanding call for the federal government to double the humanitarian intake.

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$500 million detention centre savings should be used to increase refugee intake

Posted on Blog by Lyle Shelton · May 12, 2015 12:00 PM

Some of the $500 million budget savings from closing immigration detention centres should be reallocated to increasing the refugee intake, according to the Australian Christian Lobby.

Managing Director Lyle Shelton said this was a big saving off the budget’s bottom line and the government should use it to help persecuted religious minorities fleeing Islamic State in Syria and Iraq.

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Solidarity with the persecuted must go beyond a Facebook profile upgrade

Posted on Blog by Lyle Shelton · April 07, 2015 12:00 PM

Last week’s massacre in Kenya and the ongoing brutality of Islamic State highlight just how dangerous life is for many Christians and other religious minorities, including Shia Muslims.

As IS burst out of Syria into Iraq forcing Christians and other minorities to convert, flee or die there was a surge of solidarity by Australian Christians.

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Iraq: churches and govt agree...sort of

Posted on Blog · September 19, 2014 10:00 AM
In this week's Politics In Focus, ACL's Managing Director Lyle Shelton comments on the groundswell of support for military action against Islamic State. But there's less agreement on how to support the thousands fleeing the conflict zones of Iraq and Syria. Watch the video below.







Iraq: churches and govt agree... sort of from InFocus on Vimeo.

Get a Christian perspective of news and politics with the latest political commentary from ACL on “The Politics in Focus”. This TV segment airs fortnightly on the Australian Christian Channel as part of Seventh Day Adventist Media’s weekly InFocus program. Tune in on Fridays at 7pm or Saturdays at 12pm.


Cost should not thwart refugee help

Posted on Blog · September 11, 2014 10:00 AM
Now that the lethal practice of people smuggling has been stopped, I’ve been wondering why Australia cannot increase its humanitarian intake.



Australia accepts 13,700 refugees per year. There are a staggering 51 million displaced people in the world.



There are now hundreds of thousands more - mainly Christians, Yazidis and Shia - thanks to ISIS brutality.



At the Coalition’s campaign launch just over a year ago, Tony Abbott said: “And we won't increase the humanitarian migrant intake until such time as it's no longer being filled by people smugglers.”



That’s fair enough but the Government’s policies have worked. After 1200 deaths in the past few years, no one has drowned in the past year. People smugglers are out of business.



To its credit the government has used its newly-won flexibility to target those most in need, recently announcing 4400 places to those fleeing ISIS in Syria and Iraq.



This is a very good start but it is obvious the persecuted need far more help.



The long term strategic aim of the international community must be to eradicate or at least contain ISIS so a safe haven can be created for Christians and other minorities to return home.



A Middle East purged of Christians is too glittering a prize to hand the extremists.



Nonetheless, many will need resettling.



Yesterday at the National Press Club in Canberra, the Immigration Minister Scott Morrison gave the government’s reason for not acting on increasing Australia’s humanitarian intake.



Asked if it could be doubled, Mr Morrison said the cost of resettling refugees at $2 billion over the forward estimates was too high.



But surely there are offsets in the closing down of detention centres and the eventual cessation of offshore detention.



Sure, Australia’s refugee intake is high by global standards on a per capita basis.

But the need is phenomenal and we are rich.



Military intervention in the name of humanitarianism is laudable. But so too would be allowing in more refugees fleeing ISIS brutality.



Both are costly. It’s hard to understand why we can afford one and not the other.



If you haven’t already, please sign our petition.

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Government should heed calls to settle more refugees fleeing persecution

Posted on Blog · September 07, 2014 10:00 AM
MEDIA RELEASE



For release: Monday 8 September 2014

Liberal Member for Longman Wyatt Roy’s call for a doubling of Australia’s humanitarian intake should be heeded, according to the Australian Christian Lobby.



Mr Roy’s call comes a week after the Coalition’s junior partner, The Nationals, voted unanimously in favour of an urgency motion seeking an increase at its Federal Council meeting in Canberra.



ACL Managing Director Lyle Shelton said 19,500 people had signed ACL’s on-line petition calling for an increase in the wake of the persecution of Christians and other religious minorities by the Islamic State in Syria and Iraq.



“The Government deserves credit for stopping people smuggling, halting the deaths at sea and removing children from detention,” Mr Shelton said.



“But the problem of 51 million displaced people in the world is massive and has been further exacerbated by the persecution of hundreds of thousands of Christians and other religious minorities in Syria and Iraq.



“While Australia’s refugee intake of 13,700 is generous on a per capita basis, much more needs to be done to help suffering people.



“Extraordinary brutality requires extraordinary generosity and Australia, as a relatively wealthy nation, is well-placed to do more.”



Mr Shelton said Mr Roy was right to point out the escalating persecution of Christians in north Africa and the Middle East.



While resettlement of refugees was necessary, the international community should also be ultimately seeking to establish safe havens for Christians and other persecuted religious minorities so that they could return to their homes in Syria and Iraq.



“The Islamists’ goal of purging Christians, Yazidis and other Muslim minorities should not be allowed to stand,” Mr Shelton said.


Government should back Nationals’ urgency motion to help Islamic State victims

Posted on Blog · August 31, 2014 10:00 AM
The Australian Christian Lobby has renewed its call for the Federal Government to urgently lift the humanitarian refugee intake to assist refugees fleeing Islamic State brutality in Iraq and Syria.



This follows unanimous support for such a move at this weekend’s Nationals Federal Council meeting in Canberra.



The chair of the Nationals’ New South Wales Women’s Council, Claire Coulton tweeted that the Nationals’ Federal Council “unanimously supports urgency motion to increase foreign aid to and refugee intake from Iraq and Syria”.



ACL Managing Director Lyle Shelton welcomed the junior Coalition partner’s urgency motion which calls for a change of Government policy to see the humanitarian intake go beyond its cap of 13,700 refugees per year.



“Extraordinary brutality requires extraordinary generosity,” Mr Shelton said.



“Christians, Yazidis and Muslim minorities are being targeted in what can only be described as religious cleansing and Australia is well-placed to do more to help.”



ACL previously welcomed the 4,400 places recently announced for Christians and other religious minorities but noted this was within the 13,700 quota.



“The Government has made a good start in responding to what Prime Minister Tony Abbott has described as a ‘humanitarian catastrophe’, but we can do better.



More than 19,000 people have signed ACL’s petition calling for the Abbott government to lift the cap on refugees beyond 13,700.



“ACL believes the quota should be lifted to at least 20,000 and possibly beyond,” Mr Shelton said.

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