Australia's conservative government has tried to introduce new legislation that would retroactively allow it to force a Norwegian vessel packed with asylum seekers to leave territorial waters.
The opposition Labor Party, which has backed the government in its refusal to accept 434 mainly Afghan asylum seekers rescued last Sunday by the freighter Tampafrom a sinking vessel, said it would not support the bill.
That meant it was unlikely to be approved.
But Prime Minister Mr John Howard told legislators from his coalition government that he would make parliament sit all weekend if that was what it took to get the law passed, the Australian Broadcasting Corp reported.
Australian crack Special Air Services troops today boarded the Tampaafter its captain ignored Australian orders not to enter territorial waters around the continent's remote Christmas Island outpost in the Indian Ocean.
The troops told the captain to put back to sea with his human cargo, many of whom were on hunger strike and in poor health, but the captain has refused, insisting his container vessel cannot hold the asylum seekers on a long sea voyage.
The move to turn back the boat people has triggered a diplomatic stand-off with Norway, where the container ship is registered, and Indonesia, where they last came from.
Immigration Minister Mr Philip Ruddock has insisted that current laws covered the seizure by armed SAS troops of the cargo ship.
Nevertheless, the proposed legislation would specifically allow the government to order a vessel and all aboard to be removed from Australian waters.