THE MEDICO-POLITICO-LEGAL SAGA AROUND Novak Djokovic’s entry and increasingly likely exit from Australia has entered its end game stage.
With elections on the horizon, the country’s conservative government, soundly defeated once in the courts, invoked extraordinary executive powers to cancel the visa of tennis’ World No.1 and top seed at next week’s Australian Open for a second time on Friday, citing “health and good order” grounds.
Australia’s efforts to deport the 34-year-old Serbian tennis great will wait till his renewed legal challenge has concluded, a government lawyer confirmed Friday.
At an emergency hearing, Stephen Lloyd told a judge that the government would not detain Djokovic before an interview with immigration officials on Saturday morning and he would not be deported before his case is heard, AFP reports.
The move, coming just three days before the Australian Open starts, puts Djokovic’s dream of a record 21st Grand Slam in serious doubt. Djokovic, an avowed Covid-19 vaccine sceptic, had been practising on the Melbourne Park courts just hours before Immigration Minister Alex Hawke’s politically charged decision was announced, the French newswire reported.
The government is “firmly committed to protecting Australia’s borders, particularly in relation to the Covid-19 pandemic,” Hawke said in a statement, further citing “health and good order grounds” and that “it was in the public interest to do so”.
Djokovic’s lawyer Nick Wood requested an injunction against his removal and appealed for him to be allowed to remain out of immigration detention as the case proceeds, AFP further reports.
“We are very concerned about time,” Wood said, arguing that the government’s decision was marked by “irrationality”.
Irrational or not, the odds clearly weigh against the all time tennis great defending his Australian Open crown.
