Posted on 01/13/2022 11:24:34 PM PST by naturalman1975
The Federal Government has decided to cancel Novak Djokovic’s visa because it was “in the public interest to do so”, casting serious doubt over whether the 20-time grand slam champion will compete in the Australian Open.
Last week’s decision to cancel Djokovic’s visa was overturned in the Federal Circuit Court on Monday, but Federal Immigration Minister Alex Hawke still had the final say on whether the world No. 1 is allowed to stay in the country.
Hawke was tasked with choosing whether the 34-year-old was a risk to the health and safety of the Australia community, but “lengthy further submissions” from Djokovic’s legal team delayed a decision.
And Hawke finally came to a decision on Friday afternoon, invoking his discretionary power and immediately seeking to deport the tennis star.
“Today I exercised my power under section 133C (3) of the Migration Actto 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,” Hawke said in a statement.
“This decision followed orders by the Federal Circuit and Family Court on 10 January 2022, quashing a prior cancellation decision on procedural fairness grounds.
“In making this decision, I carefully considered information provided to me by the Department of Home Affairs, the Australian Border Force and Mr Djokovic.
“The Morrison Government is firmly committed to protecting Australia’s borders, particularly in relation to the Covid-19 pandemic. I thank the officers of the Department of Home Affairs and the Australian Border Force who work every day to serve Australia’s interests in increasingly challenging operational environments.”
Djokovic’s lawyers are expected to seek an immediate injunction which would allow him to stay and play his first round of the Australian Open pending an expedited trial next week.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.com.au ...
So are there no exemptions allowed ?
When he issued the previous decision Judge Kelly lectured the government lawyer to notify him immediately if Hawke was going to take any action. I’m thinking he might not be too happy to have to spend his weekend on this after Hawke’s juvenile stunt of waiting until Friday evening. And why didn’t Hawke give some more substantive ground for his action? I think he expects and maybe wants to be overruled, and he did this 100% for political reasons.
To be exempt from those requirements, a person has to have a medical condition that contraindicates vaccination.
What has caused some genuine confusion is that some states of Australia (not the federal government) do allow an exemption based on having had COVID in the last six months. This applies to moving around their state - but not to entry to the country (which state governments aren't meant to have any direct control over).
The federal government though has set entry requirements to Australia on the basis of the rules set by the most restrictive states, not the least restrictive, to avoid a situation where a person could legally enter the country in Melbourne, but couldn't do so in Perth (for example) - a single nationally consistent standard.
Under Australia's constitution the state governments have control over public health matters, so they set the rules. The federal government has to base its rules on the state rules for consistency. That's what has happened here.
It needed to be said again. naturalman1975, Australia has gone off the rails and its governments think it is their full time job to punish and harass its citizens. This is not going to end well no matter how much you bleat otherwise. It's going to get ugly.
He's not really supposed to. His personal power to overrule under the act is meant to be done only on very simple grounds. Overcomplicating would not be appropriate.
I think he expects and maybe wants to be overruled, and he did this 100% for political reasons.
He's a politician, so I wouldn't rule anything out. Like I say, it's going to be interesting to see what happens next.
It also needs to be said that you simply and obviously do not understand the complexities of how Australia is governed.
Saying Australia has gone off the rails is blaming Australia as a monolithic entity for things that have occurred because of actions of state governments in only very limited areas. There’s no real reason why people outside Australia should understand Australia’s constitutional relations, but the fact they don’t is leading to a lot of really, really poor understandings here.
A land of sheeple.
I guess we will just have to believe our own lying eyes and ears instead of you.
I have to admire your persistence in defending the indefensible, it must be exhausting.
Yeah, well, that's what Americans seem to do. Believe the propaganda they've been spoonfed by liars, and ignore anything that tries to educate them on the facts.
I have to admire your persistence in defending the indefensible, it must be exhausting.
It can be exhausting at times - but what I'm actually defending is the truth. The fact you think the truth is indefensible - frankly, I'd find that worrying.
BAAAAAAAA
Most Americans have never heard of the Australian Open before you made a big deal out of detaining a tennis player so it's a bit of a stretch to say that we have an idea that it's "really really important to Australia". We'd have to have heard of it to think that.
You detained a touring tennis player who has recovered from Covid and thus has better immunity than anyone with the shots, a guy that you'd previously given a visa to enter. Great Job!! That's quite a strong blow for border security, I'm sure the Chinese took one look at that and have decided to scratch you off their invasion list. That's about as much of a win for border security as our strip searching 90 year old Jewish grandmothers in wheel chairs after 9/11.
To put it bluntly, this makes your country look like a bunch cowering ninnies.
What a lying ass you are! We are all watchingthe broadcasts straight from Australia and the speeches your politicians are giving while being total sods. We’re not taking it from our news for taking it from Australian news and we don’t like what we see.
Next you’ll be telling us that the Norwegian Blue is “just pining for the fjords”.
And when you compare Australia, an island country with just 30 million people and then compare it to the United States there is no comparison and complexity. America has 50 states, five overseas territories, and three huge states that combined have three times Australia’s population such as California, Florida, and Texas.
Also, most U.S. have no problems criticizing their own government, where you seem to believe that a citizen of a country has to support a government's actions no matter what. You believe criticizing any actions by the Australian government makes you a bad Australian. Most U.S. wouldn't feel the same, or would actually feel the opposite here.
No. I am not a liar. And the fact you accuse me of that simply shows how mislead and manipulated you've been.
I don't doubt you've seen broadcasts from Australia, but I don't think you understand what you're seeing because, in many case, I doubt you know who the people you are seeing speak are and what positions they hold in various governments. You probably see somebody like Daniel Andrews, and then you see Scott Morrison, and you think they are speaking from the same playbook when they are actually diametrically opposed to each other in every single way, and you don't get the differences, or the political realities involved.
And when you compare Australia, an island country with just 30 million people and then compare it to the United States there is no comparison and complexity. America has 50 states, five overseas territories, and three huge states that combined have three times Australia’s population such as California, Florida, and Texas.
It's not just about size. We have a radically different system of government from yours. You are used to a Presidential system and a strong federal government. Our federal government is deliberately very weak, except in a very small numbers of areas, and our Prime Minister doesn't have anything like the power your President has. Most Americans seem to think the Prime Minister has been in charge and responsible for Australia's reaction to COVID. In fact, quite the opposite is true. He's almost powerless and his government has to take its lead from the states - and unfortunately two of those states are autocratic socialist near-dictatorships. Americans wind up thinking the whole country must be that way - it isn't. It really isn't.
You detained a touring tennis player who has recovered from Covid and thus has better immunity than anyone with the shots, a guy that you'd previously given a visa to enter.
No, actually that is not what has happened. Djokovic never had a valid visa to enter Australia and the lie that he did that people here keep repeating because they've been fed that lie is part of the reason why this is a border security issue for Australia. Misinformation and lies about Australia's border policies make it so.
Possibly. But I'm using the term 'border security' in the way it is used in Australia and it's not just about permanent immigration and I honestly do no understand why any American would think it is. I'm fairly sure the 9/11 hijackers weren't permanent residents of the United States. For border security to actually mean anything, it needs to cover temporary visitors as well as permanent ones. And based on my experience when I've visited the United States, that really does seem to be the way it works. It's not exactly easy to get into the United States as a tourist from Australia - nor should it be. And when I go there, I damned well follow all America's rules and would never dream of thinking I had any right not to.
Also, most U.S. have no problems criticizing their own government, where you seem to believe that a citizen of a country has to support a government's actions no matter what.
Absolutely not. I criticise my government's actions constantly when they deserve it. I just don't believe in criticising it based on false information and foreign propaganda. And that is what is happening all too often here. One of the big problems here is that the AUSTRALIAN government is constantly being attacked on Freerepublic for actions it opposes and had no part in, but were instead actions taken by STATE governments. I want the criticism directed to the actual governments responsible - not aimed at the people who aren't responsible. Blaming the wrong people just helps lets the actual problem people get away with what they are doing.
You believe criticizing any actions by the Australian government makes you a bad Australian.
No, that's not even remotely true.
But I think criticising the Australian government for actions undertaken by (for example) the Victorian government (which is NOT the same government) is ignorant, stupid, and dangerous, and is putting my country at serious risk. We are lucky enough to have a conservative national government in Australia. Unlike the United States. Unlike Canada, as well.
And too many people on Freerepublic are attacking it for things it hasn't done and letting the hard left socialists avoid being blamed for what they are doing.
The Australian government hasn't imposed a single lockdown. The Australian government hasn't imposed a single vaccine mandate within Australia (it has done so with regards to entry to Australia, but not within Australia). As far as I know, the Australian government has not put a single person in quarantine for COVID in Australia (on that last one I'm not absolutely certain there hasn't been a single case, because there are some reasons it could be done, but I haven't heard of any).
But it's constantly being attacked for supposedly doing all these things.
For example, Judge Kelly (who does look like he's going to take the case on an expedited basis) could issue a bridging visa that allows Djokovic to play and let the actual border security issues be addressed at a later date. I think he could also do this with an injunction but I'm not absolutely sure on that - I am trained in law, but I'm not an actual lawyer and court procedure is complex.
Judge Kelly could also rule, as an example, that the specific rule on no exemption being given for having had COVID is unreasonable, in a way that doesn't deny the general principle that the Commonwealth government has the power to set rules. That one would be problematic in a lot of ways, but it wouldn't actually damage overall border protection law - just one specific regulation.
There may be other mechanisms as well. My point is, there are potential ways of handling this that don't endanger Australian border security law or policy.
But what really irritates me is the people who seem to think this shouldn't be important. Or who are ascribing motives to it that ignore these issues.
Judge Kelly is due to hear the case soon. I imagine he is annoyed at Mr. Hawke for ruining his weekend.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t_-BcBnNeLA
Sending a perfectly healthy Djokovic packing will be a very noble gesture.
Australia- we like to keep our prison free
from free-thinkers.
NOBODY wants that for any country.
We are talking about a perfectly healthy tennis player. One person.
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