The Federal Government recently announced that there would be at least 15,000 places available over four years for people fleeing the crisis in Afghanistan.

Bishop Long conceded such a commitment “sounds good, but the problem is that these are places within the existing humanitarian and family visa programs”.

“The scale of the humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan requires the urgent creation of additional places in Australia’s humanitarian intake,” he said.

“We need to scale up our practical compassion, not simply adjust priorities within existing plans.

“That is why the bishops, together with other members of the Catholic Alliance for People Seeking Asylum (CAPSA) and many other community groups, call once more for the allocation of at least 20,000 additional places.”