THE Archbishop of Sydney, Dr Glenn Davies, has called on the Australian Prime Minister, Tony Abbott, to increase the country's annual refugee intake to assist the Christians and members of other religious minorities who are fleeing Iraq and Syria.

Dr Davies wants the humanitarian intake increased to 20,000 a year from the current 13,700. He thanked the Australian government for reserving 4400 places for refugees from the current Middle East violence, but said that increasing the intake to 20,000 would not be unsustainable. It would "reflect a country whose values include compassion for the vulnerable and dispossessed", he said.

He appealed to Mr Abbott to "show hospitality and generosity to those who have suffered more than we can imagine".