Novak Djokovic’s Australian visa again been cancelled by Australian immigration minister

|TG|

Novak Djokovic’s Australian visa has again been cancelled just days before the start of the Australian Open. On Friday, the Australian immigration minister, Alex Hawke, exercised a personal power to cancel Djokovic’s visa, likely to result in the world No 1’s deportation and putting him out of contention for the grand slam tournament barring an against-the-odds court victory. The decision means that Djokovic could be effectively barred from re-entering Australia for three years unless he can show in future bids that compelling circumstances exist, such as compassionate or Australian national interest grounds. In a statement Hawke said he cancelled the visa “on health and good order grounds, [and] on the basis that it was in the public interest to do so”. Hawke brushed off the Australian government’s loss in court on Monday, indicating Djokovic had his visa restored only on “procedural fairness grounds”. Hawke said he had “carefully considered information provided” by Djokovic, his department, and the Australian Border Force. “The Morrison government is firmly committed to protecting Australia’s borders, particularly in relation to the Covid-19 pandemic.” The decision follows comments from the prime minister, Scott Morrison, on Thursday that he expects authorities to apply the policies of the government that non-citizen non-residents must be double vaccinated or have an acceptable medical exemption. Djokovic arrived in Australia on the evening of 5 January. He believed that a visa granted on 18 November and an exemption approved by TennisAustralia’s chief medical officer and a Victorian government independent expert panel would be sufficient to enter Australia. After late-night questioning at Melbourne airport, Djokovic’s visa was initially cancelled by a delegate of the home affairs minister last Thursday, on the basis a recent Covid infection by itself was not sufficient for an exemption from Australia’s strict vaccination requirements. The delegate concluded that, since he was unvaccinated, Djokovic posed a risk to public health.

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