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Immigration Minister Alex Hawke has used his personal power to cancel Novak Djokovic’s visa, as his lawyers prepare to file an immediate injunction against the decision.
The move has thrown the world tennis no.1’s quest for a 10th Australian Open into turmoil with the tournament to begin on Monday. If he doesn’t challenge the decision in the courts or is unsuccessful in doing so, he will be immediately deported from the country.
Immigration Minister Alex Hawke (left) cancelled Novak Djokovic’s visa again.Credit:Alex Ellinghausen, AP
Mr Hawke late on Friday afternoon said:
“Today I exercised my power under section 133C(3) of the Migration Act to 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.
“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.”
Immigration Minister Alex Hawke’s decision means Novak Djokovic could be forced back into immigration detention within hours.
It is unclear whether federal authorities plan to move him back to the Park Hotel in Carlton, where he stayed alongside refugees held in detention until the Federal Circuit Court ordered his release on Monday.
Sources confirmed the plan was to move him back into some form of immigration detention.
Mr Hawke’s decision means the world no.1 tennis player doesn’t have a valid visa and either has to go into detention or get on a plane home.
This is unless his legal team challenge the decision and a judge rules he can stay in the community while the case is heard.
In politics, like tennis, everyone keeps score – and Novak Djokovic has just lost a match on basic political numbers.
Scott Morrison made the rational decision to send the wealthy tennis star home after calculating the enormous political cost of giving him special treatment.
Djokovic during practice this morning.Credit:Eddie Jim
Letting him stay would have been a guaranteed way for the Prime Minister to ice a cake of political blunders with a thick layer of political madness.
It was untenable to allow the unvaccinated tennis player to gain easy entry to Australia when he had misled border officials about his travel to Spain and been caught in public in Serbia while infectious with the coronavirus. The penalty is that he may be denied entry to Australia for three years.
But political factors were fundamental to the decision by Immigration Minister Alex Hawke, one of Morrison’s closest allies.
The government can see that Australians are in no mood to give Djokovic a waiver when so many people have put up with tough rules for so long – even when that has meant closing the border to the country’s own citizens.
That means the decision is the right call.
Sources speaking to our journalists Paul Sakkal and Anthony Galloway yesterday said that Novak Djokovic’s legal team would immediately take Immigration Minister Alex Hawke to court upon a decision to cancel the defending champion’s visa.
Lawyers believe the hearing could be fast-tracked by minimising the length of written submissions and verbal evidence.
If the case does go to court, the 20-time grand slam winner’s legal team hope the matter could be heard in court over the weekend and finalised by Sunday, allowing him to play a match early next week if he beats the government for a second time.
The case would go back to Federal Circuit Court Judge Anthony Kelly (who overturned the cancellation the first time) for a hearing, but he then may refer it to the Federal Court. Sources earlier in the week confirmed there was a justice on standby to hear the case.
Novak Djokovic could be forced to leave the country within hours after Immigration Minister Alex Hawke used his personal power to cancel the Serbian tennis star’s visa, as his lawyers prepare to file an immediate injunction against the decision.
The move has thrown the tennis world no.1’s quest for a 10th Australian Open into turmoil with the tournament to begin on Monday.
Mr Hawke said on Friday he had used his power under section 133C(3) of the Migration Act to cancel the visa held by Djokovic “on health and good order grounds, on the basis that it was in the public interest to do so”.
The personal powers granted to the immigration minister to cancel visas are extremely broad.
If Djokovic doesn’t successfully appeal the decision, the laws dictate that he would be banned from being granted another visa for three years – however this can be waived.
Full statement from Immigration Minister Alex Hawke:
Today I exercised my power under section 133C(3) of the Migration Act to 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.
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.
Immigration Minister Alex Hawke has used his personal power to cancel Novak Djokovic’s visa, as his lawyers prepare to file an immediate injunction against the decision.
The move has thrown the world tennis no.1’s quest for a 10th Australian Open into turmoil with the tournament to begin on Monday. If he doesn’t challenge the decision in the courts or is unsuccessful in doing so, he will be immediately deported from the country.
Immigration Minister Alex Hawke (left) cancelled Novak Djokovic’s visa again.Credit:Alex Ellinghausen, AP
Mr Hawke late on Friday afternoon said:
“Today I exercised my power under section 133C(3) of the Migration Act to 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.
“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.”
The streets surrounding the office of Novak Djokovic’s lawyers remained quiet this afternoon as Australia awaited a decision on the cancellation of the tennis star’s visa.
Two police officers manned the vehicle entrance to the building on Flinders Lane until about 3.45pm, when they drove off without being replaced.
Fans mob a car as it leaves the offices of Novak Djokovic’s lawyers on Monday night. Credit:Simon Schluter
Djokovic fans, who have relentlessly showed their support for the tennis pro since he was detained and moved to Park Hotel last week, were nowhere to be seen. It was a markedly different scene after the original cancellation decision was overturned and fans clashed with police on Monday night.
Immigration Minister Alex Hawke is expected to make a decision on Djokovic’s visa today after revising new documents submitted by the star’s lawyers on Wednesday.
Former deputy secretary of the Department of Immigration Abul Rizvi says there are three reasons behind the delay in the decision about Novak Djokovic’s visa.
Dr Rizvi told ABC Melbourne radio a short time ago that the government has either not settled on the politics of cancellation versus non-cancellation with factions in the government pulling in different directions, the legal issues and the risk of losing a second challenge were still worrying decision-makers, or the government was still trying to work out a strategy once the cancellation decision was made.
Novak Djokovic training in Rod Laver Arena this morning.Credit:Eddie Jim
Dr Rizvi said if the minister decided to cancel Djokovic’s visa, then the tennis champion must immediately be taken into detention again.
“The government can decide to release him from detention on a bridging visa. That’s a subsequent decision,” he said.
“Legally, at the point of cancellation, he must be taken into detention.”
Dr Rizvi said if the minister cancels the visa, it would likely be made under his personal powers and the decision would focus on false information provided on Djokovic’s visa form. Under that decision, the minister would consider the cancellation to be in the public’s interest, which would be tested in court.
He said a judge may be prepared to sit urgently to hear the matter, but the case could be heard over the weekend as well.
“What would be worrying the minister is that the judge may also decide to direct the minister to release Mr Djokovic from detention on a bridging visa that enables him to play while the judge considers the evidence and considers the applications that are made and conduct the hearing,” he said.
Dr Rizvi, who was a senior official in the department from the 1990s to 2007, said if he were advising the minister, he would say the legal risks of losing the case were significant and the issue carries on for longer in the media while the appeal process goes on.
Victorian Deputy Premier James Merlino gave a press conference a few hours ago about the state’s response to COVID-19, and he was asked by journalists whether the Novak Djokovic situation was damaging Melbourne’s reputation.
“No, I don’t think so. Melbourne and Victoria has for, decades now, a very proud of delivering world-best major events,” Merlino said.
Victorian Deputy Premier James Merlino.Credit:Eddie Jim
The Victorian government once again refused to comment on Djokovic’s visa issues, with Merlino saying visa issues were the Commonwealth’s area of responsibility.
The state government said in a press release yesterday that it had invested $1 billion into the redevelopment of Melbourne Park, the home of the Open, and has secured the tournament in Melbourne until at least 2044.
Novak Djokovic’s physiotherapist Ulises Badio, who has kept a low profile this week, has posted a few photos on his social media account with the tennis champion.
Badio only captioned the photos, which show the pair looking relaxed courtside at Rod Laver Arena, with an emoji of a koala and a kangaroo.
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2022-01-14 07:26:44Z
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