Sydney, Australia - There would be no ban on Muslim headscarves in schools, Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said.
Prime Minister John Howard last month ruled out a ban on the headdress at public schools, first suggested by Victorian Liberal Sophie Panopoulos and taken up enthusiastically by NSW backbencher Bronwyn Bishop.
The proposal was dubbed dangerous and divisive by Islamic groups and came less than a week after Mr Howard convened a roundtable of moderate Muslims to work out ways the community could work together to counter the threat posed by extremist clerics.
Mr Downer launched a report into Australia's trade in higher education courses and swelling international student numbers at Australian educational institutions and said the headdresses would stay.
"(Education Minister Brendan Nelson's) made it clear that he doesn't support ... bans of that kind," Mr Downer told reporters.
"The prime minister has made that clear and I've made it clear. So I get the feeling if the three of us have made it clear, it's not going to happen."
Mr Downer said Australia should promote moderate Muslim views in its region, but did not think debate over banning the headdress would affect whether Muslim students chose to study at Australian educational institutions.
"It's important that we do all we can to empower moderate Muslims to win the battle of ideas," he said.
"I feel very strongly about that in South-East Asia - helping the Indonesian government, for example, ensure that their Islamic education is moderate.
"We have aid programs that provide that assistance through particularly their education and their religious affairs ministries," he said.
"I think the fact that Muslim students come to Australia to study and learn about pluralism in Australia while they're here, learn about moderation and tolerance ... it's a good thing."
Dr Nelson said the intake of international students to Australian institutions reached a peak when former One Nation leader Pauline Hanson was most popular.
Ms Hanson was well known for her opposition to Asian immigration.
"It's also worth reflecting on the fact that ... when Ms Hanson was at her zenith, if you like, politically in Australia, that we sustained the highest rates of growth in international students that I think we've seen," Dr Nelson said.