Tennis star Novak Djokovic won a court battle on Monday to stay in Australia to play the Australian Open despite not being vaccinated against CIOVID-19, but the government threatened to cancel her visa an second time.
Federal Circuit Court Judge Anthony Kelly reinstated Djokovic’s visa, which was canceled after his arrival last week because authorities ruled he did not meet the criteria for exemption from a requirement. entry that all non-citizens should be fully immunized. The judge also ordered the government to release Djokovic within 30 minutes from a quarantine hotel in Melbourne where he has spent the last four nights.
Government attorney Christopher Tran told the judge after the ruling that Immigration, Citizenship, Migrant Services and Multicultural Affairs Minister Alex Hawke “will consider whether to exercise personal power to cancelation”. That would mean Djokovic could again be sent off and miss the Australian Open, which starts on January 17.
Kelly said the threat of another visa cancellation meant “the stakes are now up rather than down.” “If this man is to be summarily deported following a personal exercise of the power of annulment, he cannot return to this country for three years, am I right about that?” Kelly asked lawyers for Home Secretary Karen Andrews, under whose authority Djokovic’s visa had previously been canceled.
Tran and his colleague Naomi Wootten have confirmed that Djokovic will be banned from Australia for three years.
The government canceled the visa of Djokovic, 34, shortly after arriving in Melbourne on Wednesday night to play at the Australian Open.
There was a public backlash to the announcement that Djokovic, who previously refused to disclose his vaccination status, would participate in Melbourne because Australians not vaccinated or inoculated with vaccines not recognized by Australian medical authorities face travel difficult. and quarantine restrictions. Court documents say he is not vaccinated.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s Conservative government is seeking re-election to a fourth three-year term in elections slated for May.
While his government has been widely praised for bringing the country’s COVID-19 death toll under control at the start of the pandemic, cases of omicron have increased rapidly. He has been criticized for the shortage of rapid antigenic tests and for refusing to make the tests available to everyone for free.
He sought to blame the controversy on Tennis Australia, which hosts the Australian Open.
Djokovic has been in safe custody in quarantine at the hotel since Thursday, when his visa was canceled.
He appealed the annulment at the virtual court hearing on Monday amid growing public debate over the positive coronavirus test that his lawyers have used as grounds for seeking medical exemption from the strict vaccination rules of the ‘Australia. Djokovic argued that he did not need proof of vaccination because he had proof that he had been infected with the coronavirus last month.
Australian medical authorities have decided that a temporary exemption from the vaccination rule can be granted to people infected with COVID-19 within six months.
Judge Kelly noted that Djokovic had provided Melbourne airport officials with a medical exemption granted to him by Tennis Australia and two medical panels.
“The point I’m a little agitated about is what more could this man have done?” Kelly asked Djokovic’s attorney, Nick Wood.
Wood agreed with the judge that Djokovic couldn’t have done more.
Transcripts of Djokovic’s interview with border officials and his own affidavit revealed a “repeated appeal to the officers with whom he dealt that to his knowledge, without question, he had done absolutely everything he believed was necessary so he can enter Australia, “Wood says.
Djokovic’s lawyers presented 11 grounds for appeal against the cancellation of his visa. Lawyers called the cancellation “seriously illogical”, irrational and legally unreasonable. Lawyers for Home Secretary Andrews said in their brief that the vaccination requirement could only be deferred for arriving travelers who have had a COVID-19 infection if their illness is acute.
“There is no indication that the plaintiff (Djokovic) suffered from a serious and acute illness in December” when he tested positive, according to the written submission.
Andrews ‘lawyers ultimately admitted that the authorities’ decision to interview Djokovic in the early hours of Thursday and cancel his visa before he could contact Tennis Australia or his lawyers was unreasonable under the circumstances.
Djokovic was informed at 5:20 a.m. on Thursday that he had until 8:30 a.m. to respond to a notice of intention to cancel his visa. His comments were requested instead at 6:14 a.m.
The decision to cancel his visa was taken a little over an hour later.
Judge Kelly said if Djokovic had had until 8:30 a.m. he could have consulted others about the decision.
Neither Ministers Andrews nor Hawke immediately responded to requests for comment.
The virtual audience crashed multiple times due to an overwhelming number of people around the world trying to watch the proceedings.
At one point, an expired forensic link was apparently hacked and disseminated pornography, The New Daily News website reported.
Djokovic is a nine-time Australian Open champion. He is the defending champion and has won the last three titles at Melbourne Park.
Djokovic has 20 Grand Slam singles titles, a men’s record he shares with Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal.
(This story was not edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)