Dissenting senator scuppers Howard's refugee Bill
Australian prime minister John Howard dropped plans for tough new refugee laws today, saying they would have been narrowly defeated in the Senate, because of the defection of one politician.
The Bill would have required all asylum seekers who arrived in Australia by boat to be sent to island detention camps.
Howard said his Cabinet decided to cancel a scheduled vote in the Senate this week because a government senator, whom he did not name, would have voted with the opposition against the Bill.
"It was clear that the legislation was going to be defeated," Howard said.
The government's majority of only two in the 76-seat Senate means that if one government senator votes with the opposition or two abstain from voting, the legislation is defeated.
The Bill was passed last week by Parliament's lower chamber, the House of Representatives.
