Queensland Senator Ian Macdonald likened the situation to climate change and said Australia should only do its proportionate share.

Others, such as Tasmania's Brett Whitley, argued Australia should do more, contending that the debate has changed "and if we don't change with it we'll be left looking reactionary", a source said.

Mr Whitley was quoted as saying Australia needed to do its bit and the government "needed to move with the heart beat of our communities".

The government has signalled it will give priority to persecuted minorities such as Christians.

Senator Abetz argues for Christian minorities to be prioritised in Australia's refugee intake #auspol #migrantcrisis pic.twitter.com/7htjYT1cgU — Primrose Riordan (@primroseriordan) September 8, 2015

Former immigration minister Philip Ruddock contended there were many persecuted Christian minorities elsewhere, such as in Malaysia.

Prime Minister Tony Abbott has flagged Australia doing more but gave no details to the party room.

Foreign Minister Julie Bishop told the partyroom European nations trumpeting their additional refugee intake, were not necessarily taking on permanent refugees, with the UK only handing out five year visas, and Germany processing rather than resettling 800,000.


While Coalition frontbenchers such as Senator Eric Abetz have argued for Christian minorities to be prioritised, NSW Liberal Premier Mike Baird signaled he thought there should not be discrimination and "everyone has the same value".

Australia is also facing increased international scrutiny over its approach to asylum seekers, with Hollywood actress Mia Farrow and Executive Director of Human Rights Watch Kenneth Roth attacking Mr Abbott's response.

'Emotive arguments'

In a speech to Parliament on Monday night, Senator Bernardi attacked the Greens and others for citing the image of the boy as reason Australia and the world had to act.

He said the child and his family were not legitimate refugees because they had fled Syria some years earlier and had been living in Turkey.

"I find it a bit sanctimonious for [Greens leader Richard] Di Natale to bring in these emotive arguments, and particularly to characterise this as some sort of humanitarian mission by using the terrible image of that young boy who was picked up from the beach after having drowned at sea," Senator Bernardi said.

"The facts remain that that terrible image was not brought about by recent events in Syria or Iraq. That boy and his family had lived in Turkey for three years.

"The money for that boy's father to pay the people smugglers was sent from Canada. The father sent them on that boat so the father could get dental treatment. They were in no fear, they were in no persecution and they were in no danger in Turkey."


Queensland Liberal MP Ewen Jones, who has called for Australia to take as many as 50,000 refugess from the crisis, was openly scornful of his colleague.

"Do you really expect anything other than that from someone like Cory?," he said.

'An embarrassment'

Ms Bishop said conditions in Syria were horrific.

"I don't believe he could be referring to people leaving Syria," she said.

Labor frontbencher Anthony Albanese said Senator Bernardi was "an embarrassment to this Parliament" and deserved to be treated with contempt.

Labor has called on the government to take an additional 10,000 refugees from the crisis as a one-off expansion to the annual refugee intake of 13,750.

On Tuesday, the National Security Committee of cabinet is expected to give the Green light for the Royal Australian Air Force to bomb Islamic state targets in Syria.