The tennis star has lost an appeal against Australia’s Immigration Minister for his visa being annulled. His dream of tenth victory at the Australian Open has burst. For the Australians, the political coming to terms with the farce is now beginning.
Novak Djokovic has lost his fight to enter the Australian Open. He has to leave Australia.
Actually, Novak Djokovic should have played his compatriot Miomir Kecmanovic on Monday evening in the Rod Laver Arena. But this does not occur.
Melbourne federal court judges – James Allsop, Anthony Besanko and David O’Callaghan – have upheld the Australian Immigration Secretary’s decision to annul Djokovic’s visa. Djokovic’s appeal was rejected on Sunday. Around 90,000 viewers followed the live stream of the trial – more than the number of tennis fans at the Australian Open games. Djokovic had to wait for the decision in his lawyers’ office.
Late on Sunday evening, a few hours after the judges’ decision, the tennis player left the country for Dubai. It is unclear whether Djokovic will not be allowed to enter Australia for the next three years. An expulsion is usually associated with this requirement.
The negotiations on Sunday were essentially about the same points as the day before. The government side reiterated that the Australian Minister for Immigration has discretion to cancel a visa if entry by a person could endanger health or public order in Australia. Or if it is not in Australia’s public interest.
What was new in the negotiations for the second cancellation of the visa was the argument that Djokovic was an idol of the anti-vaxxers, Australia’s opponents of vaccination, which could incite them to new actions or even a riot. Djokovic’s lawyers once again described this as “illogical, irrational and unreasonable” and asked whether the minister had also considered that expelling the tennis player could incite Australian opponents of vaccination.
“I am extremely disappointed with the decision,” said Djokovic shortly afterwards in a statement from which several media quoted. The verdict is the final twist in the entry story, which has attracted international interest far beyond the tennis scene for almost two weeks. “I’m uncomfortable that I’ve been the focus for the past few weeks and I hope we can all focus on the game and the tournament I love,” Djokovic said.
Australians have other concerns
Most Australians are just tired of the whole thing now. According to recent polls, over two-thirds of them want Djokovic deported. Pushing ahead and gaining an advantage over others is considered reprehensible in the country, even when shopping or at the bus stop. A superstar who wants to fight for a special permit with legal dodges is certainly not well received – not even if he is the best tennis player in the world.
Most Australians have completely different concerns – even if Prime Minister Scott Morrison, the former marketing expert, initially thought he could distract his compatriots from their real problems with the Djokovic case. Australia is being overtaken by a giant omicron wave. The daily number of infections has been around 100,000 for days.
For almost two years, Australians had been able to limit the number of Covid 19 deaths to under 2,000, often with many personal victims. Now that number has risen to nearly 2,700 in just a few weeks. In the media you see pictures of completely exhausted doctors and nurses. Some of them, often still young and inexperienced, were trained to take care of Covid-19 patients in intensive care beds within a few days.
“I’m afraid for my grandmother. If she gets sick now and has to go to the hospital, we can’t help her,” a young nurse sobbed in a report. The hospitals are full. Patients are triaged, important surgeries and treatments are delayed even for cancer patients.
The medical practices are also completely overwhelmed. They should advise Covid 19 patients, administer booster vaccinations and vaccinate children. But they have to cancel numerous appointments because they don’t get enough vaccines. Urgently needed rapid tests are rare – even if some products are made in Australia. In addition, much of the testing is going abroad because the Australian governments failed to place orders in a timely manner.
The shelves of many supermarkets are empty – there is a lack of fresh fruit, vegetables and meat. The supply chains are broken. There is a shortage of workers everywhere. The government has relaxed quarantine regulations for employees in the most important areas. But that doesn’t help when people are sick.
Australian government failure
It’s midsummer in Australia, the children are still on summer vacation. Now many people worry that the return to school classes at the end of January could make the situation even worse.
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison is pushing for a return to schools. Delaying the start of school would reduce the workforce by another five percent, he said in a press conference. But many parents are reluctant to send their children to school unvaccinated, and progress on the immunization program is slow.
Many Australians see the situation as a failure on the part of the federal government and especially the Prime Minister, who pushed ahead with the opening of the previously cautious Australia in December last year. But Omicron thwarted him and other politicians.
The Causa Djokovic initially seemed a welcome distraction to him. Morrison eagerly participated in the discussion about Djokovic’s visa. But since the affair turned into a farce, he’s been conspicuously reticent. Immigration Secretary Alex Hawke must now bear the political consequences.