PRIME Minister John Howard decided to turn away the Tampa freighter, carrying more than 400 asylum seekers, despite receiving advice his decision coul

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PRIME Minister John Howard decided to turn away the Tampa freighter, carrying more than 400 asylum seekers, despite receiving advice his decision could be in breach of international law, his new biography reveals.

A spokesman for the prime minister tonight said the advice given to Mr Howard was that the action was legal.

"At the time, the Prime Minister obtained explicit advice from the international law division of the attorney-general's department and that advice was that the Government's actions were perfectly legal," the spokesman said.

On August 26, 2001, Norwegian sea captain Arne Rinnan rescued 433 asylum seekers whose boat capsized while they were en route to Australia.

At their urging he abandoned his intention to drop them in nearby Indonesia and diverted to Australia.

But the Tampa was ordered not to enter Australian waters, then seized by authorities before it docked at Christmas Island and the asylum seekers were taken aboard an Australian navy vessel.
Most were taken to Nauru to have their claims for asylum processed, while more than 100 were granted asylum in New Zealand.

The Government's tough stand on the Tampa is widely believed to have helped it win the 2001 election.

Channel 9 today reported that leaked passages from an unauthorised biography of Mr Howard reveal he decided to turn the Tampa away despite initial advice from the attorney-general's department that it could be a breach of international law.