Scott Morrison reveals Novak Djokovic visa twist: ‘Exemption was not in place’

"We put the trust in those people that are making those decisions. They have the correct information. That’s what it is. That’s all it is. There’s nothing else to it,” Barty said.

And there you have it. We must trust Big Brother. He knows what's best for us. /s

He’s not the only player traveling under the same kind of visa.

I'm not sure that is actually true. It's something that is being claimed by Djokovic supporters, but I haven't actually seen them provide any real evidence of that. I don't believe it just because they say so, given that the Djokovic camp does seem to be supplying other inaccurate information.

What about the other players...

If there are any others players who situation is the same as his (not just has some similarities, but is actually the same in all significant details), they should be treated the same. Unless you are going to argue that because mistakes were made previously, you now can't enforce the law - which would seem to me to be an odd argument. "A and B got away with breaking the law, so C should as well..." No. A and B should be reigned in if that is the case.

But currently it is looking like Djokovic never had the vaccine exemption he claimed to have, which means he tried to enter Australia under false pretences.

I think you need to retract this. Djokovic said he had an exemption to play in the Australian Open. And that is true, so he didn't lie. It turns out their was an issue with the Visa.

If Australia doesn't want to let him in, it's their country. But given he already had COVID, I don't think it's scientific. If they want to test him for antibodies, fair enough, but I don't think he's actually a threat to Australians.

I think it looks bad for the Australian Open if he doesn't play, given he's won the last three and 9 out of the last 14.

Yes sir, Australia has the sovereign right to deny anybody it wants entry into their country.

But I wonder if they thought this one out as it is rapidly turning into an international incident.

The fact that ignorant and ill informed people overseas don't understand what is going on and so have decided to turn this into an international incident is not something I think the Australian government should consider. It has no responsibility for international stupidity and ignorance.

Good luck with your citizens being treated nicely trying to enter Serbia (not that Serbia is the hot destination). See, they are a sovereign nation too. They can exercise their sovereignty and detain your citizens upon entry.

Sure. If they want to.

But we're not going to be bullied by Serbia into making an exception to our laws for a guy whose only claim to fame is being good at tennis. He does not get special treatment even if it upsets the Serbians.

I think you need to retract this. Djokovic said he had an exemption to play in the Australian Open. And that is true, so he didn't lie. It turns out their was an issue with the Visa.

I'm waiting to see what the courts find on this. If they find that what actually happened is different from what I'm seeing at the moment from sources I consider reasonably reliable, I will change my position. But at the moment I am seeing a lot of different claims of what is going on from sources of varying reliability and I'm basing my positions on the sources I consider most likely to be reliable. I'm seeing a lot of people pushing sources I think can't be trusted because they support what they want to be true.

As I currently understand things, Djokovic is claiming Tennis Australia told him he had an exemption. I think that it's entirely possible he was told that by Tennis Australia. But - to state the obvious - Tennis Australia is not a body that actually decides Australian border laws or border policy. Unless he has a document from some competent Australian Commonwealth government organisation that states he had been granted an exemption, he never had one - Tennis Australia is not such a body.

And given Djokovic's history and experience, and the controversy that has been around this for weeks, I would find it difficult to believe that he or somebody in his entourage wouldn't have understood that Tennis Australia couldn't do this.

When Djokovic suddenly announced he had an exemption to travel and was basically on his way to Australia, it clearly took both the Australian government, and the Victorian government by surprise. Nobody could initially explain how this could have happened - well, it really does seem it's because it didn't. I genuinely think Djokovic was just trying to rush into the country relying on confusion and public pressure to bluff his way past Border Force. It didn't work. Yes, there is an alternative interpretation that he didn't understand how the system works and so it wasn't dishonesty, but merely ignorance - but I find that hard to credit given this has been an ongoing issue for weeks, and I would assume he and his people have made sure they've looked at all the legal avenues properly.

Now, if it turns out, he is in possession of some evidence that a Commonwealth government body with the power to grant an exemption told him he had one, I'll change my position then.

If Australia doesn't want to let him in, it's their country. But given he already had COVID, I don't think it's scientific. If they want to test him for antibodies, fair enough, but I don't think he's actually a threat to Australians.

I don't believe he is a threat, either.

And a lot of what has been done throughout COVID by some governments in Australia is definitely not scientific at all.

The problem here is that it is the state governments that set virtually all the rules on COVID policy in Australia, under the Constitution. The Commonwealth government has very little power in this regard but one of the few areas it does is international arrivals.

Here's the problem - because the Australian Open happens in Melbourne, it's the Victorian government that sets the fundamental rules. And the Victorian government has decided to set strong mandate rules in this state - a very wide range of people are not allowed to work unless they are vaccinated. Do I support that? No, I don't. I don't generally believe in vaccine mandates, but I also think Victoria's socialist government has, throughout this pandemic, behaved in an overly authoritarian manner in terms of its COVID policies. But even though I don't agree with it, and I don't support it, I cannot deny they have the legal power to do what they are doing. I wish I could.

The Commonwealth government (our national level government) on the other hand, has taken a much looser approach to COVID. It opposes most vaccine mandates - unfortunately it doesn't have any power to stop states doing that if they choose to. But, yes, it decides who comes into Australia. It could let Djokovic in.

However, having allowed him in - it has no power to actually let him do anything like play tennis. That's up to the Victorian government.

Because of this, the Australian government has adopted a general policy throughout the pandemic of only allowing people into Australia if they are going to be able to function normally in Australia. It's a matter of common sense really - we can't have a situation where people are allowed into the country, only to be immediately put into long term quarantine the moment they cross border security. In legal terms, Djokovic wants to enter Australia to work - his job is playing tennis. If he is not going to be allowed to play tennis because the Victorian government won't let him, it would be pointless for the Australian government to let him in.

And, as it stands, even if he's allowed in, there is currently no guarantee, the Victorian government will let him play. If they do, I suspect they will face a massive backlash from the Victorian public and I just can't see Daniel Andrews (the Victorian Premier) allowing it if that's going to happen.

This doesn't have anything to do with science. It is pure politics. But the blame for that lies primarily with the Victorian governments heavy handed approach to vaccine mandates.

It's really quite ridiculous that somehow the blame is being put on the Commonwealth government at this point. If it was entirely their decision, we probably wouldn't have any mandates at all on coming into Australia right now - but they can't overrule the states and territories and entering Australia also means entering a state or territory. About the only place in Australia that you can currently go without having to deal with compliance with state or territory law is the tiny Jervis Bay Territory - and even there, Australian Capital Territory law is generally applied for administrative convenience.

I think it looks bad for the Australian Open if he doesn't play, given he's won the last three and 9 out of the last 14.

I don't doubt it looks bad for the Australian Open. But I'm afraid I don't think a tennis tournament is more important than Australian sovereignty.

Quote: “ But we’re not going to be bullied by Serbia into making an exception to our laws for a guy whose only claim to fame is being good at tennis. He does not get special treatment even if it upsets the Serbians.”

Ok, you are treating this as if someone is trying to sneak into your country uninvited. He was invited and thought he had the proper authorization. BUT, he was wrong. He made this assumption based on the fact that other player who had received a health exemption were admitted into Australia. Novak is not naming names because he doesn’t want to get them tossed. How do I know this? My friend and tennis coach is there now as an official stringer for the event.

Hmmm, so why only Novak? Is it because you make a bigger political statement? Evidently, it is only if you are the best tennis player in the world that you get your comeuppance. In short, Novak was high profile about not being a vaccine proponent and the Australian Government is the poster boy for Covid coercion. Novak is just a great opportunity for your government to show the people who is in charge. OBEY!!!

It is evident that the issue here that is making this more than a typical Visa snafu is the vaccine requirement. It is taking an issue that could have been dealt with more diplomatically and turning into a political statement. One that has strong feelings on both sides.

I can understand Australia protecting its borders to keep Covid out. It is a wise policy that has resulted in you guys avoiding things like having your movement restricted, being forced into quarantine camps and a whole host of other horrors.

Last word, you can do what you want but there will be consequences. The players will be divided in this issue. But they will likely make the Australian Open pay the price. It has happened to Tours and events in the past. It will happen here. And don’t think Novak doesn’t have support amongst the players. He does.

Ok, you are treating this as if someone is trying to sneak into your country uninvited.

Yes, I am. Because of the way it happened. Djokovic suddenly announces he has an exemption and gets on a plane almost instantly, before anybody in the Australian government can say "Hang on - we have no idea where this supposed exemption comes from." To me, it looks very much like somebody trying to get in before anybody works out he's bluffing.

He was invited and thought he had the proper authorization. BUT, he was wrong. He made this assumption based on the fact that other player who had received a health exemption were admitted into Australia. Novak is not naming names because he doesn’t want to get them tossed. How do I know this? My friend and tennis coach is there now as an official stringer for the event.

I don't believe he thought he had the proper authorisation. I don't believe he and his entourage could be that ignorant and stupid, given his experience with international travel.

Now, I know he and others are claiming others in the same circumstances got in. I won't say that is impossible. But if they did, that would seem to be because mistakes were made. Personally I think it's more likely, the situations aren't actually identical, merely similar, but we don't know that yet as far as I can see.

Hmmm, so why only Novak? Is it because you make a bigger political statement?

No. But it might well be that he's higher profile and so his papers were examined more carefully. I wouldn't rule that out.

In short, Novak was high profile about not being a vaccine proponent and the Australian Government is the poster boy for Covid coercion.

But the Australian government isn't - or at least shouldn't be - the 'poster boy for COVID coercion'. If that is the case, overseas, it's because people outside Australia have been a false narrative. The Australian government has generally opposed vaccine mandates and other forms of coercion. Some state governments in Australia, especially Victoria's have been very coercive, but that isn't the Australian government.

In fact, politically, it would be probably be much better for Scott Morrison and the Australian government for Djokovic to be allowed to play in Melbourne - because the average Victorian is incredibly angry about the idea that Djokovic is getting what seen as special treatment. Most of us (I live in Melbourne) can't work if we're not vaccinated and people are bloody pissed off at the idea that some foreign superstar wouldn't be subjected to the same rules - even if we don't like the rules. This would have been (and still could be) very damaging to Daniel Andrews and his socialist state government. It will be rather ironic if federal law winds up protecting them from that backlash.

Novak is just a great opportunity for your government to show the people who is in charge. OBEY!!!

No. There's no upside for the federal government on this. If Djokovic is deported, it will just drive home that it's the state governments that are really in charge - because they are the ones pushing vaccine mandates, not the federal government. If he isn't, the federal government looks weak and powerless in a different way.

It is evident that the issue here that is making this more than a typical Visa snafu is the vaccine requirement. It is taking an issue that could have been dealt with more diplomatically and turning into a political statement. One that has strong feelings on both sides.

I think Djokovic was relying on turning this into an international incident to try and force his way into Australia. And I believe that is fundamentally dishonest and disgusting behaviour for which he should be condemned, not celebrated. Unless he has documentation from a competent Australian Commonwealth department saying he had an exemption to enter Australia, he did not have such an exemption. In which case, he lied.

Now if it turns out he does have such documentation - which I will concede could have been issued, most likely by mistake - my position would change.

I am fully prepared to believe, by the way, that somewhere like Tennis Australia may have told him he had an exemption. But I honestly don't think he and his people could be stupid enough to think Tennis Australia has the power to issue exemptions. I would wait on something official before I got on a plane.

Last word, you can do what you want but there will be consequences. The players will be divided in this issue. But they will likely make the Australian Open pay the price. It has happened to Tours and events in the past. It will happen here. And don’t think Novak doesn’t have support amongst the players. He does.

Sure, there may be consequences.

But I don't think a tennis tournament is even remotely important compared to Australian sovereignty. I'd much rather lose the Australian Open than see any dents in Australian sovereignty. There's no comparison.

In an ideal world, I certainly wouldn't want to lose the Australian Open but I find it baffling that people think that's anything more than a very weak argument.

Elections are due in Australia in a few months and PM Morrison is trailing badly in polls and getting hammered due to the recent omicron surge and lack of testing kits.

Morrison decided to capitalise on the public disgust following the exemption given to Djokovic and flip flopped by cancelling the visa given to Djokovic after he landed at the airport.

Note...already 2 other players have already arrived and playing in Melbourne with exemption granted using the same process as Djokovic did.

This is just pure politics from a disliked politician...nothing else.

This is what I have been told by somebody I know who is very senior in Australia's Department of Home Affairs (the Federal government department most directly responsible for securing Australia's borders). He is one of the people trying to deal with this mess, and this is his current understanding:

"1. Djokovic was given an exemption by Tennis Australia to be able to compete in the Tennis - this is completely separate and completely different from any exemption issued by the Australian government for entry into the country. Being allowed into the country doesn't guarantee being allowed to play in the Tournament under Tennis Australia's own COVID-safe rules, and being allowed to play at the Tournament doesn't mean anything in terms of entry into the country. Tennis Australia approval does not invalidate or remove his immigration or Border Force requirements to actually enter the Country first.

2. Djokovic had a Visa - however like nearly all visa's gained overseas (either in person or electronically) there is information that is required to be supplied and the Visa is conditionally approved for travel. Final approval is when the passenger gets to the Australian border. This happens to all incoming passengers.

3. The airline only has to comply with the rules and regulations at the country of departure. Australia, like many other countries are requesting that departure countries take note of the conditions for the arrival country, but this is a guideline only and airlines do not have to follow them.

4. Djokovic may have been under the impression that because he has "allegedly" already contracted the virus previously he was considered "clear" and would therefore be granted an exemption on arrival. This is not the case under Australian or Victorian law or regulations. There are some situations under which having had COVID in the last six months entitles a person to a vaccine mandate exemption for certain purposes. Entry to the country is not one of these - to have any chance of getting a vaccine mandate exemption for entry into Australia, a person must demonstrate that they are at specific and unusual risk of an adverse reaction - there are only a handful of recognised medical conditions (mostly allergies) that lead to that happening. Even if he had been right, though, it would mean he never actually had an exemption and any claim he did was untrue. There is a difference between being entitled to an exemption (which, in the event he was not) and actually having one.

5. If Djokovic had been entitled to an exemption we would have expedited his entry. It is difficult to see any reason to do things in the way he did, unless he was aware that he did not have an exemption.

6. Now he is in the country, he has a right to a hearing and it's entirely possible his lawyers could drag matters out until after the Australian Open. This could lead to a situation where he is actually allowed to play (on the basis that the matter is sub judice and not settled) only to be eventually formally denied entry after the Australian Open is over. There is more than a little speculation that this may have been a deliberate tactic all along."