Christianity conversions raised in Australian asylum debate

CANBERRA - Allowing long-term immigration detainees to stay in Australia because they converted to Christianity would spark a string of conversions among asylum seekers, the Labor party said today.

Thirty of Australia's longest-serving detainees who have converted to Christianity are reportedly having their cases reviewed by the federal government and could soon be free.

Labor's immigration spokesman Laurie Ferguson said if the detainees were allowed to stay because of their conversion, others would try to follow suit.

"We're in a situation now where one must say that if you're in detention for a long time you're going to be very attracted to conversion," he told ABC radio.

"I'm not saying for a moment that all of these conversions aren't genuine, however, there must be real issues now in regards to the processing system."

The Sydney Morning Herald reported today that the government was reviewing the cases to help it find a face-saving way to soften its policy on failed asylum seekers who have been in custody for more than three years and who cannot be repatriated to their country of origin.

But Mr Ferguson said he hoped the detainees would be individually assessed to determine if they were genuine converts before they were allowed to stay in Australia.

"I would have thought that most Australians would say that when you judge whether this person is a genuine convert you would also look at that person's history with interaction with the (immigration) department," he said.

"I think the question is are these people credible in their conversion.

"Some will (be), some might be more questionable.

"But basically you have a situation here now where a great possibility is given to those people who convert, I think, we're going to find a few more conversions quite frankly."

Federal cabinet is expected to debate the issue of long term detainees when it meets tomorrow after facing pressure from backbenchers and the Family First party.

Family First spokesman Peter Harris said some detainees, such as those from Iran, would face persecution if they returned home as converted Christians.

But he said the government should not use religion to base its decision on whether to allow detainees to stay in Australia.

"I think that if the government make decisions on the basis of religion, as opposed to having a process of compassion and expediency, there are some real dangers in causing people to go down that pathway," he told ABC radio.

"Let's have a system which is compassionate and expedient and one that takes on board our full responsibilities as a modern and civilised nation."

- AAP