Immigration Minister Alex Hawke cancels Novak Djokovic's visa ahead of Australian Open

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Source: ABC Au.

Immigration Minister Alex Hawke has used his ministerial powers to personally cancel Novak Djokovic's visa, after the world number one men's tennis player won a court case earlier this week against the cancellation of his entry visa.

Mr Hawke said he had cancelled the visa this time on "health and good order grounds, on the basis that it was in the public interest to do so".

"In making this decision I carefully considered information provided to me by the Department of Home Affairs, the Australian Border Force and Mr Djokovic," he said.

"The Morrison Government is firmly committed to protecting Australia's borders, particularly in relation to the COVID-19 pandemic."

Read more: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-01-14/novak-djokovic-visa-cancellation-decision-immigration-minister/100748386

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It was untenable to allow the unvaccinated tennis player to gain easy entry to Australia when he had misled border officials about his travel to Spain and been caught in public in Serbia while infectious with the coronavirus. The penalty is that he may be denied entry to Australia for three years.

But political factors were fundamental to the decision by Immigration Minister Alex Hawke, one of Morrison’s closest allies.

The government can see that Australians are in no mood to give Djokovic a waiver when so many people have put up with tough rules for so long – even when that has meant closing the border to the country’s own citizens.

That means the decision is the right call. Australians are anxious about the Omicron wave and searching for rapid antigen tests at a time when food and grocery supplies are running low at some supermarkets. Morrison is under pressure to get the nation through a grim summer. It is no time to offer special exemptions to a tennis player.

While some fear for the status of the Australian Open, the decisive factor has been the experience of ordinary Australians, especially those who have aired their frustrations to government MPs.

https://www.theage.com.au/politics/federal/the-political-cost-of-letting-djokovic-stay-was-too-high-for-morrison-20220114-p59oc4.html