World’s number one tennis player, Novak Djokovic has lost bid to stay in Australia. The Australian Government will deport him promptly as he lost a challenge in court when federal judges ruled against him.
Novak Djokovic entered Australia unvaccinated against Covid-19 but claimed vaccination exemption on medical grounds. After being accepted, there was outcry from the general public as it emerged that Novak Djokovic was against vaccination. It was further revealed that despite testing positive for Covid-19, Mr. Djokovic disregarded measures used to combat the deadly viral disease by refusing to isolate.
Novak Djokovic Visa Canceled for the First time
On January 5th, Djokovic was arrested and detained in one of the immigration detention facility while waiting for deportation. But he launched a successful legal challenge against his canceled visa, hence leading to it being reinstated about a week later.
But on Friday, January 14th , Immigration Minister Alex Hawke once again cancelled Djokovic’s visa under separate powers in Australia’s Migration Act.
The act allows him to deport anyone he deems a potential risk to “the health, safety or good order of the Australian community”.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison said the decision had followed “careful consideration”.
Within hours of his detention, his legal team launched another legal challenge, but this time round in a federal court. They were challenging the immigration minister’s exercise of his rights to deny a foreigner entry into Australia due to public unrest and disorder.
Novak Djokovic was in Australia to compete in the Australian Open 2022 that will start on Monday January 17, 2022 and end on January 30, 2022. Mr. Djokovic was expecting to defend his 2021 Australian Open title.
Novak Djokovic Loses Court Case Against his Canceled Visa
On Sunday January 16th, Novak Djokovic lost his application to reinstate his visa that was canceled by the Immigration Minister. In dismissing the player’s application, the federal judges concluded:
“Given … the interest and coverage in different parts of the world including Mr Djokovic’s home country of Serbia, the court considers it appropriate to make clear a number of matters about the process that has taken place,” he said.
“It is not part of the function of the court to decide upon the merits or the wisdom of the decision [by Mr Hawke].”
Delivering the unanimous verdict, he said: “The orders of the court are … the amended application be dismissed with costs.”
Player Gives Statement About His Defeat in Court
In conceding defeat Novak Djokovic addressed the media by stating that he was disappoint with the court’s decision of upholding the Immigration Minister’s action. Below is a full transcript of Novak Djokovic’s statements:
“I would like to make a brief statement to address the outcomes of today’s Court hearing.
I will now be taking some time to rest and to recuperate, before making any further comments beyond this.
I am extremely disappointed with the Court ruling to dismiss my application for judicial review of the Minister’s decision to cancel my visa, which means I cannot stay in Australia and participate in the Australian Open.
I respect the Court’s ruling and I will cooperate with the relevant authorities in relation to my departure from the country.
I am uncomfortable that the focus of the past weeks has been on me and I hope that we can all now focus on the game and tournament I love.
I would like to wish the players, tournament officials, staff, volunteers and fans all the best for the tournament.
Finally, I would like to thank my family, friends, team, supporters, fans and my fellow Serbians for your continued support. You have all been a great source of strength to me”.
