Rudd declares stopping seaborne asylum seekers a priority after baby drowns

Australia would make stemming the flow of asylum seekers trying to reach the country by sea a priority, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said, after an infant drowned in a boat attempting the crossing from Indonesia.

The body of a boy less than a year old was recovered as 88 people were rescued from a vessel that began to sink on Friday north of Christmas Island, Home Affairs Minister Jason Clare said. A search to locate eight missing people was suspended yesterday, based "on medical advice on survivability", the Australian Maritime Safety Authority said.

"This tragedy underlines the absolute importance for Australia to continue to adjust its policies to meet changing circumstances in the region and in the world when it comes to border security," Rudd said.

Suspected asylum seekers from countries including Iran, Afghanistan and Sri Lanka were among the 97 people aboard the vessel, Clare said.

Australian authorities yesterday intercepted two suspected asylum-seeker boats, one carrying 105 people off Christmas Island, and a second with about 50 passengers and two crew off Ashmore Islands, Clare's office said. A boat carrying 197 asylum seekers was stopped on July 11 after it also ran into difficulties.

Rudd, who last month ousted Julia Gillard to return as prime minister, is seeking to tackle voter discontent over the government's inability to stem the flow of asylum seekers ahead of a national election that must be held by November. That failure has helped erode voter support for Rudd's ruling Labor Party, with opposition leader Tony Abbott pledging to "stop the boats".