written before the Court decision, by the former Australian Open tournament director...but well worth noting, as this is not what the public were told about Djokovic by the FakeNewsMSM:
15 Jan: The Age, Melbourne: Djokovic an easy target in anti-vaxxer witch hunt
by Paul McNamee, tennis player and former Australian Open tournament director
The No.1 men’s player in the world and nine-time champion is scheduled to begin the defence of his Australian Open title on Monday. In the Federal Court, he is facing deportation for three years. For me, perhaps sending home one of the best athletes in the world boils down to the simple reason that it is now known he is not vaccinated, and being such a public figure, it made him an easy target. Otherwise, there never would have been what seems to be a witch hunt.
When he boarded the plane for that long flight to Australia, he had every reason to believe he was entitled to enter. Yet, unlike the ***other players and officials ***who had arrived before him with the same medical exemption (including, in my view, the very poorly treated Czech player Renata Voracova), he was the one singled out to be detained...
It’s important to note the federal government has now accepted his medical exemption is valid, that there is only negligible health risk, and further stating in court documents he is a “person of good standing known for his philanthropy”.
For the record, if you have the same medical exemption here in Victoria as Djokovic, you can get a job at Woolies (Woolworths supermarkets), or can work at or attend the Australian Open. The new court case will be based on entirely new grounds, with the Immigration Minister saying that “as a high profile un-vaccinated individual ... Mr Djokovic’s ongoing presence in Australia may lead to an increase in anti-vaccination sentiment in the Australian community, potentially leading to an increase in civil unrest of the kind previously experienced in Australia with rallies and protests which may themselves be a source of community transmission”.
People are saying he is getting special treatment because he is Novak Djokovic, when in fact it’s the opposite, as now it’s only because he is a high-profile and “influential” person that he is facing deportation.
The Australian Open is far and away Australia’s biggest international sporting event. Hosting all the world’s best tennis players in arguably the best sporting precinct in the world, it generates close to one billion dollars in economic impact for the state of Victoria. It puts Melbourne front and centre on the world stage for two weeks but, this year, for all the wrong reasons...
Djokovic is not an “anti-vaxxer”, which has been widely reported. He has openly said his children get various vaccines. Generous to a fault, he has personally donated millions of dollars to hospitals and causes struggling under the burden of COVID-19 in Serbia, Spain and Italy. He set up and paid for free vaccinations at two ATP and one WTA tournament (on his property) in Belgrade, so players and coaches could be double vaccinated, as many were. Who knew that?
He knows from his own experience with allergies and diet that, in many ways, you are what you digest. Simply put, he wants the final say about what enters his body. As the No.1 in a highly competitive global sport, who can blame him? So, what he is actually is pro-choice...
The facts are that Djokovic, a complex, holistic and deeply spiritual man, was put in detention just in time for Orthodox Christmas. He chose not to take his “bat and ball” (actually racquet) and go home but, armed with resources unavailable to the average man, he dared to take on the government in the Federal Court, and won.
Now he is facing another court case, on entirely different grounds. He could have said it’s all too hard, cut a deal, so there would be no further detention or long-term consequences, and got out of Australia pronto. He has chosen to stand his ground and take on the fight, and is again detained, on the eve of his first-round match. I respect him greatly for that.
I also respect that he fights for the rights of lower-ranked players to make a better living. He is popular in the locker room, and since this saga began, I have run into many players, male and female, and especially the lower ranked, who deeply appreciate the efforts he makes on their behalf: “Without Novak, we have no voice. He is our friend.”
The Australian Open has been engulfed and paralysed by this fiasco. Having once been the tournament director for 12 years, and knowing the enormous contributions of so many, I am not happy that it is being subject to ridicule, given, for example, the so-described “temporary draw”...
The facts are that Djokovic came to Australia with one sole aim, to try and defend his Australian Open title. Agree with him or not, and unpopular as he is here, it is accepted he met the rules...
So, he sits detained with the threat of immediate deportation for three years. It might as well be for life, as why would he ever come back?
https://www.msn.com/en-au/sport/more-sports/djokovic-an-easy-target-in-anti-vaxxer-witch-hunt/ar-AASNBJL?ocid=msedgntp
pre Court hearing:
14 Jan: Daily Mail: Immigration expert floored by the ‘extreme powers’ used to cancel of Novak Djokovic’s visa - but insists there is still a chance he will be able to play in the Australian Open
By ANDREW PRENTICE
Abul Rizvi, a former Deputy Secretary of the Immigration Department, told Channel 10’s The Project on Friday night that he was shocked by Immigration Minister Alex Hawke’s announcement...
‘So what the minister (Mr Hawke) has done is use second 113C of the (Migration) Act,’ Rizvi said.
‘It gives him a power to cancel a visa holder’s visa, if the minister considers it is in the public interest to do so.
‘And he can do that without giving the visa holder any natural justice. That is what he’s done. It is a very, very extreme power...
‘I recall when it was developed we only thought it would be used in the most extraordinary and rare circumstances, where someone presented a very serious risk to the Australian population.
‘I did not ever expect it to be used in these circumstances.’
Mr Rizvi labelled the decision a ‘high wire act’ - and that he would have advised Mr Hawke to go down a different path.
The panel on The Project also labelled the timing of the news - 6pm on a Friday - a ‘classic political move.’...
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10401877/Immigration-expert-stunned-extreme-powers-used-cancel-Novak-Djokovics-visa.html
15 Jan: The Age, Melbourne: As it happened: Novak Djokovic Federal Court appeal set for Sunday after Immigration Minister cancels tennis star’s visa
by Paul Pennay
Australian Lawyers Alliance spokesman Greg Barns SC, a barrister experienced in migration cases, said Djokovic was now feeling the full force of migration laws designed to remove suspected terrorists from Australia, not tennis players.
‘One of the most dangerous aspects of the Djokovic matter is the preparedness of the federal government to deem someone to be a risk to public order simply on the basis of what it perceives that person’s views might be,’ Mr Barns said.
‘This is Orwellian and it is deeply troubling in a society supposedly committed to freedom of speech and freedom of thought.’
https://www.theage.com.au/sport/tennis/live-novak-djokovic-federal-court-appeal-set-for-sunday-after-immigration-minister-cancels-tennis-star-s-visa-ahead-of-2022-australian-open-20220115-p59ofk.html
what’s it all about?
15 Jan: news.com.au: Chief Medical Officer drops big hint on Covid-19 booster shots
Australia’s most senior health adviser has dropped a huge clue on booster shots as Covid-19 cases climb across the country.
by Courtney Gould
Chief Medical Officer Paul Kelly said the Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation would ‘absolutely’ be deliberating on the possibility of a fourth shot.
‘(ATAGI) is continuing to meet weekly. They will absolutely deliberate on fourth or subsequent doses,’ he told reporters in Canberra on Saturday...
Professor Kelly also issued a stark warning to young people to get vaccinated.
‘We are seeing an epidemic of the unvaccinated in young people. We are seeing that in intensive care admissions,’ he said.
‘Anyone of any age should be lining up to have that primary course of vaccination and boosters.’
https://www.news.com.au/world/coronavirus/health/chief-medical-officer-drops-big-hint-on-covid19-booster-shots/news-story/d365858a547ee312b40b1d6c7ab362b5
You cited: “...with the Immigration Minister saying that “as a high profile un-vaccinated individual ... Mr Djokovic’s ongoing presence in Australia may lead to an increase in anti-vaccination sentiment in the Australian community, potentially leading to an increase in civil unrest of the kind previously experienced in Australia with rallies and protests which may themselves be a source of community transmission”.
I think the crucial word here is “ ...MAY lead...”. In essence, Djokovic is being punished by refusal for him to earn a living (as for the most foreign players) not for his actual transgressions, but for the possible ones (as they may be defined by Australian government officials). And that firmly places the said officials in the same group with Soviet communists, German Nazis, and all other fascists’ regimes. Sad day for Australian people to be associated with such a “distinguished” company...