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
what’s it all about? this from the State of Queensland which has now opened its border, when it would shut the border for the sake of one or a handful of “cases” previously!
16 Jan: news.com.au: Queensland records 17,445 new Covid-19 cases, three deaths as Omicron peak nears
Queensland has recorded a further 17,445 new Covid cases and three deaths as the Omicron peak nears.
by Angie Raphael
Queensland has recorded 17,445 new Covid cases and three more deaths overnight, with hospital numbers on the rise.
One of the deaths was a person aged in their 60s, while another was in their 80s and the third was aged 103.
Two of them had received a single dose of a Covid-19 vaccine, while one was fully vaccinated.
“All of these individuals had significant (underlying) medical conditions,” chief health officer John Gerrard told reporters on Sunday.
“I use this opportunity to remind everybody of the importance of boosted vaccination.”
Dr Gerrard said Covid-related deaths in Queensland had so far been “almost exclusively” people with “significant medical problems”.
“There have been relatively few surprises in the sort of person that has died from this illness so far,” he said.
“Most of the deaths we are seeing are relatively predictable demographically...
Queensland has a double dose vaccination rate of 88.6 per cent. (Deputy Premier Steven Miles) said it was hoped the state would reach 90 per cent this week.
“I would say to all of those who are unvaccinated, if you want to go to the pub, go get vaccinated,” he said.
https://www.news.com.au/national/queensland/news/queensland-records-17445-new-covid19-cases-three-deaths-as-omicron-peak-nears/news-story/23fe59d7b68cb66b1ae1654de8b4f53c