(CNN) -- A riot on a tiny island in the Pacific that killed no one would usually go unnoticed by the world. But when some 100 asylum seekers burned down their shelters in an Australian refugee processing center Friday on Nauru Island, it did not. Instead, it drew attention to a new restrictive law made in Australia the same day banning "boat people" from living in the country. "As of today asylum seekers who come here by boat without a visa will never be settled in Australia," said Prime Minister Kevin Rudd in a statement announcing the law. The asylum seekers did not revolt because of the new law, an immigration spokeswoman said. They may have not even known about it when the mayhem broke out.
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150 asylum seekers burned down their shelters in an Australian refugee center on Nauru Island
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It drew attention to a new law in Australia banning "boat people" from living in the country
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A recent uptick in human trafficking has become an irritant to some Australians
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With an election coming, the new law could garner more conservative votes
As a consolation, if fewer boats arrive as a result of the policy, @placeholder plans to raise the number of legal asylum seekers it takes, Rudd said.