Father Bower announced on Sunday he would take leave in April and May from his parish in Gosford to ensure climate change is at the top of the Australian agenda.

The pro-refugee activist also wants transparency and accountability in government.

"I will be a candidate for the Senate in the forthcoming federal election. My commitment is to try and be a different kind of politician," Fr Bower wrote on social media.

Fr Bower, who is known for his politically-charged billboard, previously announced his intention to run in Australia's upper house in October.

"The more energy the climate-focused campaigns get, the stronger the message we will send to the incoming government," he said Sunday.

"Cheap politics is easy, it has to be because it is essentially lazy. It's obviously easy to feed people stones and convince that that they are eating bread because it happens all the time. It is up to 'we the people' to discern the difference between stones and bread and then to demand only bread."

Australian Associated Press