Australia’s Catholic bishops have called on the federal government to provide humanitarian visas for an extra 20,000 refugees from Afghanistan.

As part of a statement ahead of the federal election, the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference said the country had a “moral duty” and an obligation to take more refugees from Afghanistan because of the support shown to Australia’s military forces.

“The situation in Afghanistan demands a special intake of at least 20,000 additional places,” the statement said.

“We have a moral duty towards those who supported Australian military forces as interpreters or in other capacities,” it said.

The bishops also called for a special intake of Ukrainian refugees.

“Refugees and asylum-seekers fleeing persecution, violence or life-threatening poverty, and people who have been displaced by climate change, are our sisters and brothers,” the statement said.

It also called for a fresh look at Australia’s refugee policies, saying the people fleeing violence or persecution have a “moral claim on our assistance, whether they fit legal definitions of a refugee or not”.

The bishops’ stance has been backed by other faith groups including the NSW Jewish

“Australia is a very large nation, and I’m sure we can easily absorb more asylum seekers very quickly. Just as we saw in Europe, where many countries absorbed the large influx of Ukrainian refugees, we can also do the same. It’s not far-fetched.”

The federal government has increased its allocation of humanitarian visas for Afghans to 16,500 over the next four years.

The extra numbers March were included in the federal budget in March, with confirmation that the intake was additional to the 13,750 annual ceiling for humanitarian program.

Immigration minister Alex Hawke has said the move was in recognition of Australia’s two decades of operations in Afghanistan.

Mr Hawke said the total number of places available to Afghan nationals had increased to 31,500 over the next four years, which also included the 10,000 places already pledged within the existing humanitarian program, and the 5,000 previously announced places in the permanent stream, such as for family members.

But the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference insists a special intake is a necessary reflection of Australia’s investment in Afghanistan.

Among a host of other issues, the bishops also call for a rise in jobseeker payments, an endorsement of the Uluru Statement from the Heart, a wage rise for aged care workers and religious freedom laws.

The statement does not support a particular party with group president Archbishop Mark Coleridge saying none of the parties embodied “Catholic social teaching”.

“The bishops are, however, ­offering an election statement to encourage Catholics and people of goodwill to reflect on the good they can do for their community by using their vote for the good of all,” he said.