No religious refugee selection: advocates

A diverse group of refugee advocates as well as Christian and Muslim representatives have condemned suggestions Australia should preference asylum seekers fleeing Syria based on religious grounds.

The group, which includes the Refugee Action Coalition, representatives of both the Catholic and Anglican churches and the Lebanese Muslim Association, on Thursday released a joint statement saying the government's response "needs to be genuine with a humanitarian intention".

"In light of recent media reports regarding the discriminatory nature of the refugee intake, we are obliged to condemn in the strongest of terms the suggestion that priority should be given to people of one faith over another," the statement said.