Explanation: Why Australia has resisted a strong call from Novak Djokovic Tennis News

EXPLANATORY

The Australian Immigration Minister must now make a political decision on whether or not to use his authority to overturn the court ruling.

Australian immigration officials ruled out tennis doctor Novak Djokovic’s medical exemption from the COVID-19 vaccination requirement and revoked his visa, creating a number of branches: bureaucratic, political and legal.

The world’s best male tennis player spent four days in a Melbourne immigration detention hotel between asylum seekers and refugees before Federal Court Judge Anthony Kelly. he accepted his appeal and ordered his release and visa reinstatement.

Australian Immigration Minister Alex Hawke has yet to make a political decision on whether or not to use his authority to overturn a court ruling.

But what has happened in recent days and what could happen before the tennis tournament?

Where now?

First, a better class of accommodation. When the judge ruled in his favor on Monday, Djokovic was immediately released from the Park Hotel in Melbourne in an elegant apartment to join his team for the entire stay in Australia.

Djokovic quickly made his way to the Australian Open, Melbourne Park, tonight training session. He also trained on Tuesday, suggesting that his gaze is firmly fixed on his bid to win his 21st Grand Slam solo title.

It’s Hawke to decide About the fate of Djokovic on Wednesday.

Another issue that is being investigated is whether Djokovic misplaced the entry form for his trip when he ticked a box indicating that he had not traveled in Australia in the 14 days before his arrival on January 6. In fact, Djokovic traveled to Spain. train during that period.

What did the court say?

Perhaps the key to the whole affair and the most difficult question to answer is whether Djokovic is worth a doctor’s claim. exception Access to Australia without a vaccine.

Tennis Australia, the state of Victoria and the federal government have differing views.

Before going to Australia, Djokovic was honest about the vaccine situation. When he was interviewed by border agents at Melbourne airport early Thursday morning, he admitted that he was not.

The request for a medical exemption from the rule that all non-Australian arrivals must be vaccinated was based on the claim that they were positive on 16 December with COVID-19.

Medical panels set up by Tennis Australia and the Victoria government have granted Djokovic a vaccination exemption to play in the Australian Open. Djokovic’s lawyers argued that he had every reason to believe that the same standard was applied at the border.

What happened?

Djokovic quickly made his court decision. He tweeted only once during his four days in immigration custody to thank his fans for their help.

Early Tuesday morning, he tweeted again to thank the judge for accepting his case.

Questions remain about Djokovic’s final positive test. He underwent a PCR test on December 16 and received a positive result that night, but was reportedly seen in public for the next few days.

The role of politics

Djokovic arrived in Melbourne to meet the record daily number of COVID-19 cases. The numbers were also rising across Australia as a result of the Omicron variant.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s government has been criticized for easing some of the virus restrictions as Omicron cases began to rise and rapid antigen testing became less readily available.

Morrison said very little when Tennis Australia and the Victoria government approved Djokovic’s request for a medical exemption. But when Djokovic’s visa was revoked, he was quick to take ownership of the decision, gaining public approval.

He tweeted “rules are rules”And repeated this in the conversations of the following days. At first, it seemed like a kind of political victory.

In most pandemics, strict Australian border controls separated families, preventing Australians living abroad from returning home.

Morrison could not accept the possibility that one of the world’s most famous athletes and one of the most important vaccine skeptics could receive special treatment at the border.