Bishop John Parkes made the issue a key part of his speech at last week’s synod for the Anglican Diocese of Wangaratta.

He presented Ms McGowan with an official letter on Thursday.

“My passionate hope is that, in the context of an election, we just don’t get political chest-beating because at the end of the day, it’s vulnerable people who suffer,” Bishop Parkes said.

“I hope we do not victimise vulnerable people in order to score political points.”

He said Immigration Minister Peter Dutton’s comments asylum seekers were illiterate and taking Australian’s jobs was not his experience in the North East.

“If we are to off-shore process, we should do it in the country of origin,” Bishop Parkes said.

“I think 2000 or so, which is what we currently have in Manus and Nauru, is not a significant problem - it’s a drop in the ocean and we could quite easily process those people on shore.”

Ms McGowan committed to send the church’s letter to both Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and Opposition leader Bill Shorten.

She said she preferred a “regional solution” where government supported refugees, not use them as a “stick” for political debate.

“But that’s not currently the position we’re in,” Ms McGowan said.

“This whole idea of indefinite detention for people, I just think it’s so unfortunate.”

The MP voted for off-shore detention, but said both sides of parliament had made up their minds and she wanted to work with them.

“I’m absolutely supportive, but we’ve got to make it work, so taking away the funding for it doesn’t make it work,” she said.

“It needs to be done in a good way, it needs to be our best selves, it needs to actually justifying the ends by saying we’re not going to punish these refugees.”

Ms McGowan said parties should replicate past governments which helped integrate migrants.

“In my experience in Albury-Wodonga, community groups and church groups got money so we could actually pay coordinators to get this going,” she said.

“Within two or three years, that assimilation had worked.”