Senate prize firming as Howard cements agenda

"[The election result] is not a mandate to do reckless, destructive things and we are not going to do either."

John Howard, Australian prime minister

Australian Prime Minister John Howard said yesterday that he had no plans to change Australia's commitment of troops in Iraq, and that his top fourth-term priorities would be national security and keeping the booming economy strong.

Australian voters boosted How-ard's parliamentary majority in weekend elections, despite his unpopular decision to join the US and Britain in sending troops to invade Iraq last year. The campaign was dominated by domestic issues rather than foreign policy.

Howard told reporters that his Iraq strategy would remain unchanged for the time being.

"We do not have any plans for any significant increase in our deployment in Iraq," Howard said.

Howard sent 2,000 troops to Iraq last March, and Australia still has 900 military personnel in and around the country in non-combat roles. No Australian troops have been killed.

The opposition Labor Party had pledged to bring home the troops by Christmas if it won Saturday's election, at which Howard increased his conservative coalition government's majority in Parliament's lower house.

Despite the defeat, opposition candidate Mark Latham said he would seek re-election as the Labor Party's leader. Labor has few alternatives, but anger at Latham surfaced yesterday, with former party strategist Michael Costello calling the defeat "a complete train wreck."

"We now face at least two terms before we can win government again," Costello said.

Howard said his government would keep the economy strong and continue cooperation "with our allies both in the region and around the world in the fight against terrorism."

The six-week election campaign was interrupted last month by a terror bombing of Australia's embassy in the Indonesian capital of Jakarta that killed nine Indonesians. Today the nation will commemorate the 88 Australians who were among the 202 people killed in the Oct. 12, 2002, blasts by al-Qaeda-linked terrorists on the Indonesian island of Bali.

Parliament will sit for the first time since the election on Nov. 16, Howard said, adding that he would immediately begin pushing through campaign pledges such as giving cash rebates to over-65-year-olds who take out private health insurance.

Howard said he would spend several days picking his new Cabinet, but that Foreign Minister Alexander Downer and Treasurer Peter Costello would likely keep their posts.

As well as increasing his lower-house majority, Howard also appeared close to gaining control of the Senate for the first time in his nearly nine years in office, ensuring that his government could pass its legislation without amendments demanded by smaller parties. Senate vote-counting was still under way.

Howard said the government would act responsibly if it wins control of both houses.

The election result "is not a mandate to do reckless, destructive things and we are not going to do either," he said.

Howard, 65, is not expected to serve a full three-year term but he refused to comment on his possible retirement.

Howard's decision to join the US and Britain in Iraq drew hundreds of thousands of Australians onto the streets in anti-war protests last year. But anti-war sentiment failed to translate into votes against Howard, in a campaign dominated by heath, education and economic policies.

Howard's win came as a relief to American and British leaders, who also face elections in coming weeks and months. US President George W. Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair immediately called Howard to congratulate him.

The government's increased majority may be enough for How-ard to push through a raft of measures that had been blocked by the Senate in his third term -- including privatizing the government's majority stake in the dominant telecommunications company, Telstra, and relaxing media ownership laws.

Final figures from the Senate are not expected until Oct. 22 due to the complex voting system, but the government appeared on track to win 38 of the 76 seats.