News
24 January 2022
ETERNITY: Tim Costello: Australia “shamefully shirking” taking its fair share of Afghan refugees
Some years ago I had the opportunity to meet Novak Djokovic at an Australian Open event to which I was invited. I was especially moved by what he told me about growing up in Serbia when bombing was a regular event and impressed by the compassion he expressed towards those who have had to flee […]
MEDIA RELEASE: Gov’s 15,000 Afghan visas a “mean and tricky” attempt to disguise inaction
Christian leaders, as part of the Christians United for Afghanistan campaign, are urging Australians to not be fooled by the Morrison government’s announcement of 15,000 refugee places for fleeing Afghans, saying it’s a mean and tricky move to disguise Australia’s disappointing humanitarian response. Immigration Minister Alex Hawke’s announcement that over the next four years 10,000 […]
11 October 2021
ETERNITY: Church Leaders Increase Pressure On Key Mps To Protect Afghan Asylum Seekers
Over 50 local church leaders have signed letters that were sent to five key MPs today, appealing for them to take an additional 20,000 Afghan refugees who are most at risk from the Taliban. The letters are directed to Liberal MPs Prime Minister Scott Morrison; Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce; Treasurer Josh Frydenberg; Karen Andrews, Minister […]
9 September 2021
MEDIA RELEASE: Church Leaders meet with Minister Hawke to discuss Afghanistan Crisis
Church leaders in the electorate of Mitchell met with their local member and Minister for Immigration, Citizenship, Migrant Services and Multicultural Affairs, Alex Hawke today under the banner of the Christians United for Afghanistan campaign, to discuss the government’s response to the Afghanistan crisis. Fifteen church leaders including representatives from the Anglican Church, Baptists, Catholics, the […]
1 September 2021
Essay: Heartfelt Christian unity for Afghanistan – Tim Costello
In John 17 Jesus prays his longest and most heartfelt prayer; it is that His followers would be one as He and His Father are one. Perhaps the greatest scandal of Christian history is that Christians have been so privately disunited, and worse, publicly divided. Disunited on everything from baptism and communion to denominational schisms and doctrine. […]
29 August 2021
SBS: ‘This is who we are’: Australian church leaders demand Afghan refugee intake increase to 20,000
Christian leaders across Australia are calling on the federal government to increase the intake of Afghan refugees, as the UN warns up to half a million Afghans could flee their homeland by the end of the year. Following a week of chaos that saw Australia’s evacuation mission from Afghanistan end, Christian leaders are urging the […]
THE AUSTRALIAN: Christian church leaders lobby Morrison government to boost Afghan refugee intake
Australia’s major Christian church denominations are using their collective muscle to lobby the government to lift the nation’s Afghan refugee intake to 20,000. In what has been described as an unprecedented move, the leaders from several denominations made their feelings known about the dire situation facing Afghans when US troops are expected to finally withdraw […]
MEDIA RELEASE: Full breadth of Australian Church unites in call for Australia to take in 20,000 Afghan refugees
In a significant sign of unity, major church denominations and Christian organisations have come together to support Afghan Refugees, launching the Christians United for Afghanistan campaign. Sydney Anglicans, the Uniting Church in Australia, Baptists, Catholics, Pentecostals as well as the Australian Christian Lobby, Micah Australia and Common Grace have signed on to support the campaign. […]
25 August 2021
ETERNITY: 50 Pastors and Ministers from Alex Hawke’s Electorate Unite to Advocate for AFghan Asylum Seekers
Signatories include representatives from Catholic, Anglican, Baptist, Pentecostal, Uniting and Independent Baptist Churches. Immigration Minister Alex Hawke has heard from a large group of local Christian pastors, priests, reverends and bishops with an appeal for Australia to take action to welcome 20,000 refugees. “We do not give people dignity, as they inherently have it as […]
SMH: Christian leaders urge Morrison to take more Afghan refugees
In a letter to Prime Minister Scott Morrison on Thursday, Catholic Archbishop of Brisbane Mark Coleridge, president of the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference, called for Australia to take at least 20,000 refugees from Afghanistan, the same number as Canada. Read the full article in the Sydney Morning Herald here. […]