The Australian government cancelled the visa of Serbian tennis player Novak Djokovic on Thursday afternoon for the second time on grounds of public safety, effectively barring him from participating in the forthcoming Australian Open next week.
Minister for Immigration, Citizenship, Migrant Services and Multicultural Affairs Alex Hawke said, “Today, I exercised my power under section 133C(3) of the Migration Act to cancel the visa held by Mr. Novak Djokovic on health and good order grounds, on the basis that it was in the public interest to do so.”
Prior to the government’s decision, a source close to Djokovic, on condition of anonymity, said the player’s legal team would immediately appeal against Hawke if he decides to deport Djokovic. If the case goes to court, Djokovic’s legal team is hopeful that they could get the matter finalised over the weekend, which would allow him to play the match early next week. However, it remains unclear if the team can get the government’s decision overturned for the second time.
Hawke, who has the discretionary power to cancel visas and overturn the court’s decision, revoked Djokovic’s visa after Tennis Australia announced the tournament’s draw on Thursday, which included Djokovic, despite the threat of his deportation. However, they had also prepared a contingency plan in case his visa got cancelled.
Earlier, a source close to the federal government said Hawke was still reviewing the documents submitted by Djokovic’s lawyers on Wednesday, which caused the delay. At the same time, an anonymous source from the liberal party said the government is considering the player’s visa cancellation.
Decisive results from a NewsCorp poll with nearly 60,000 respondents across several Australian news sites takes the Australian temperature pretty tellingly.
— Ben Rothenberg (@BenRothenberg) January 13, 2022
An overwhelming 83% believe that the government should seek redeportation of Novak Djokovic. #AusOpen pic.twitter.com/jE1jfVKC9n
Furthermore, Prime Minister Scott Morrison refused to comment on the issue, saying the case is pending with Hawke. However, he reiterated the country’s border policy and said that unvaccinated foreign nations are not allowed in the country unless they possess a valid medical exemption. “We would expect authorities to be implementing the policy of the government when it comes to those matters. That relates to people who are coming to Australia. These are non-citizens, non-residents,” he said. Last week, Morrison spoke with his Serbian counterpart Ana Brnabić to discuss the Djokovic saga and reaffirmed the country’s non-discriminatory border policy.
In contrast, Federal Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese slammed the federal government over the handling of Djokovic’s visa. “How is it that a visa was granted in the first place? This has been diabolical for Australia’s reputation, just in terms of our competence here, and it is extraordinary that – as we are speaking – we still don’t know what the decision will be,” Albanese said. He added that Djokovic’s eligibility should have been decided before he was granted a visa.
Anthony Albanese hurries on Immigration Minister Alex Hawke on Novak Djokovic in asking (at presser): "how long is the focus group taking in order for the government to get the answer before it responds to this issue?" #auspol
— Karen Barlow (@KJBar) January 13, 2022
Meanwhile, Australian cricketer Shane Warne said the country has the right to deport Djokovic as the player lied on the immigration forms and broke COVID-19 isolation rules. Similarly, Greek tennis player Stefanos Tsitsipas said Djokovic has been playing by his own rules and putting the games at risk.
Novak is a great tennis player & one of the all time greats. No doubt. But he’s lied on entry forms, been out in public when he knew he had covid & is now facing legal cases. He’s entitled to not be jabbed but Oz is entitled to throw him out ! Agree ? #shambles
— Shane Warne (@ShaneWarne) January 13, 2022
Last week, an Australian court overturned the government’s decision to cancel Djokovic’s visa and criticised the Australian Border Force for detaining the player over insufficient evidence for the medical exemption granted by Tennis Australia and the Australian government earlier.