Australia turns even less hospitable for refugees

In a blunt message to the mostly Christian Papuans, Howard said: "Don't imagine for a moment that we want you to come to Australia."

Salvaging the relationship with Jakarta is on everyone's lips in Canberra.

Peter Costello, the treasurer and effectively the deputy prime minister, was open about the need to make up.

"We want to maintain good relations with Indonesia," Costello said bluntly.

"We don't want to let these things sour the relationship in any way, and we want to resume close relations, and continue close relations, that we've made such progress on in recent years," he said.