ALBURY priest Father Peter MacLeod-Miller is offering asylum-seekers sanctuary in his church, comparing their plight to that of Jews who were pursued by the Nazi regime in Germany.
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The Anglican archdeacon has joined other churches across Australia in volunteering to help 267 men, women and children facing deportation to Nauru after a High Court ruling on Wednesday.
"It means if a refugee or if people were going to be removed by the government they could be hidden in churches and we would secure their welfare," Father MacLeod-Miller said.
"They would be places of welcome when the government decides they are unwelcome.
"It's a bit like the sort of thing that people did in Germany with the Jews when the Nazis were around.
"In practice it works to welcome people who are vulnerable from the government and prejudice."
Providing churches as sanctuaries for Nauru-linked asylum-seekers was the brainchild of Anglican Dean of Brisbane Peter Catt who described it as an extraordinary step.
"We offer this refuge because there is irrefutable evidence from health and legal experts that the circumstances asylum-seekers, especially children, would face if sent back to Nauru are tantamount to state-sanctioned abuse," Dr Catt said.
The legal status of offering sanctuary is unclear with the concept based on old English common law.
The High Court ruling confirmed the Federal Government has the right to detain people in other countries.
Immigration Minister Peter Dutton has said he will not "put children into harms way" as deportations loom.
Father MacLeod-Miller, who has previously worked with Dr Catt, said he was "deeply cynical" about Mr Dutton.
"I'm interested in what he says off microphone and we've seen his attitude to vulnerable people when he doesn't know the microphone is on," Father MacLeod-Miller said.
He was referring to Mr Dutton being caught on a boom mic joking about Pacific islands facing rising sea levels and "Cape York time".
