Hawke made use of his personal rights as Minister of Immigration to make the decision. He acted for “reasons of health and the public interest,” as a statement said. His decision was in the public interest.
The government is “determined to protect Australia’s borders, especially in view of the COVID-19 pandemic,” the statement said.
Hawke stressed that in his decision he had “carefully considered the information given to me by the Ministry of the Interior, the border guards and Mr Djokovic”.
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As expected, Djokovic will appeal the visa that was revoked by the Australian authorities to prevent deportation. There was also an online hearing of the case in the responsible Federal Circuit Court. The chair was again judge Anthony Kelly, who had granted Djokovic’s first appeal against the cancellation.
The immigration minister’s lawyers agreed that Djokovic would not have to leave the country before another hearing on Saturday morning (8:00 a.m. local time / 10:00 p.m. CET) and would not be taken into custody beforehand. He could spend the night in his current hotel and would only be taken into custody after the hearing. A court decision in the case is to be made on Sunday.
On Thursday, Djokovic was assigned a duel with compatriot Miomir Kecmanovic, despite all the commotion at the draw for the first round of the Australian Open. It is more than questionable whether this will actually happen.
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison stressed:
“Australians have made many sacrifices in this pandemic and they rightly expect the outcome of those sacrifices to be protected. That is what the minister is doing with his action today.”
“Our strict border protection policy has protected Australians during the pandemic,” said the prime minister. He also underlined that his country had “one of the lowest death rates and highest vaccination rates in the world”.
The unvaccinated world number one had received his visa back at the beginning of the week after a partial success in court and was able to leave the accommodation for those obliged to leave the country, where he had to stay after arriving last Wednesday due to non-compliance with the pandemic entry requirements. Since then, the Australian government has considered further steps.
On Wednesday, Djokovic admitted that he took part in an interview in Serbia in December despite knowing that a corona test was positive. He also had to admit an “unintentional” false declaration on the immigration form.
Due to the pandemic, only foreigners who are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 or who have a valid medical exemption are currently allowed to enter Australia. A corona infection in the past six months is not a sufficient reason for such approval, according to Australian authorities.
Djokovic wanted to hunt for historic records at the Australian Open, and with his tenth triumph in Melbourne he could become the major record champion. He is currently on par with Rafael Nadal (Spain) and Roger Federer (Switzerland) with 20 Grand Slam titles.
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