Reporter | Anjing
On the evening of January 5, local time, Serbian star Djokovic, who was preparing to participate in the Australian Open, arrived at Melbourne Airport.
His goal is to reach the 21st Grand Slam of his career at the Australian Open, surpassing Federer and Nadal to become the first person to win 21 Grand Slams.
Before leaving for Melbourne, Djokovic, who had not been vaccinated against covid-19, posted on Instagram announcing that he had received a medical exemption and could enter Australia. Djokovic is one of the leading anti-vaccine figures, speaking out against COVID-19 vaccinations as early as last year.
Image source: Instagram
When Djokovic arrived at Melbourne Airport, immigration officials stopped him for review. Immigration officials eventually cancelled Djokovic's visa at the airport on the grounds that the exemption was insufficient.
Australia requires all foreign travellers to be vaccinated before entering the country, while Djokovic's medical exemption is issued by the Australian Tennis Association and the Victorian government where Melbourne is located.
Djokovic was subsequently taken to the hotel where illegal entrants were detained, and his lawyers' team appealed. At this time, Australian Prime Minister Morrison, who had used an iron fist to crack down on illegal immigration, intervened in a high profile.
In a Tweet post, Morrison expressed support for immigration officials' cancellation of Djokovic's visa, stressing that "rules are rules" and that "no one can be above the rules."
Image source: Twitter
But the progress that followed was at odds with the declaration that "no one is above the rules."
Upon appeal, a judge of the Australian Federal Circuit ruled that the decision to cancel Djokovic's visa was invalid because immigration officials had not followed the prescribed fairness of procedure when interrogating Djokovic. The court demanded that the authorities immediately release Djokovic and that all costs of the lawsuit be borne by the Australian government.
On the 10th, Djokovic left the detention hotel and began to participate in pre-game training. This storm should have ended here.
But on the 14th, Australian Immigration Minister alex Hawke, Morrison's close comrade-in-arms, announced that in order to maintain the public interest and order, he would use the power of the Immigration Minister to cancel Djokovic's visa once again.
Djokovic will face deportation and will not be allowed to return to Australia for up to three years. His legal team has appealed again.
The Australian government's use of executive power to revoke Djokovic's visa, despite the court's judicial decision, was shelled by Serbian President Vucic. Vucic accused Australia of "mistreating" Djokovic and accused Morrison of doing whatever it takes to win the election and curry favor with voters.
Australia is expected to hold federal parliamentary elections in May. Morrison and his Liberal-National party ruling coalition are in a bad position, with polls suggesting that the opposition Labour Party will be the winner of the federal parliamentary elections.
Australian government "shelled"
According to the Australian ABC News Network, Immigration Minister Hawke announced on the 14th that he would use ministerial power in accordance with the Immigration Act to cancel Djokovic's visa on the grounds of maintaining "health, good order and public interest".
The Immigration Act empowers the Minister to deport anyone deemed a threat to the safety, health and social order of the Australian people. Hawke said the continued presence of celebrities like Djokovic in Australia would increase anti-vaccine sentiment, thereby threatening Australia's public health. Morrison expressed support for Hawke's decision.
If deported, Djokovic will not be able to enter Australia for up to three years. On the 15th, Djokovic returned to the detention hotel and is currently in detention. Its team of lawyers appealed, applying to the court to hold a hearing on Sunday to reach the outcome ahead of the start of the Australian Open next Monday. Djokovic has won the Australian Open men's singles title nine times.
To show his strong dissatisfaction with Australia, Serbian President Vucic posted a four-minute video on Instagram accusing Australian authorities of "mistreating" Djokovic. He blamed if Australia didn't want Djokovic to win the Australian Open again, "why not let him come back right away?" Why didn't you tell him at first that he couldn't give him a visa? ”
The questioning pointed directly to the contradictory decision between the Australian federal government, the state government and the Australian Open organizer, the Australian Tennis Association.
Djokovic's medical exemption, issued by the Australian Tennis Association and the Victorian Government, became the basis for his visa application. The Australian Open requires all entrants and staff to have completed vaccinations or have medical exemptions issued by expert panels.
Official australian open statement
It was noted that medical exemption applications were reviewed by two independent panels of medical experts.
One of the panels was appointed by the Victorian Department of Health and one of the tasks of the panel was to determine whether an applicant met the requirements set by the Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunization. Both panels conducted "blind trials," i.e., not knowing the applicant's name. Including Djokovic, a total of 26 players at the Australian Open applied for medical exemptions.
In order to protect personal privacy, the Australian Open does not announce the reasons for the medical exemption of players. One of the reasons djokovic was speculated to have been granted the exemption was that he had been infected with COVID-19.
After the news that djokovic, the anti-vaccine representative, was exempted, the Australian people expressed strong dissatisfaction and accused the organizers of making special use of celebrities. Australia is one of the countries that have implemented the strictest lockdown measures, and major cities such as Melbourne and Sydney have experienced multiple "lockdowns".
Currently, 90 per cent of Australia's population aged 16 and over complete two doses of vaccination. But as The Opichron spreads, the country is experiencing a new peak of the outbreak.
Since January, Australia has seen a record record number of confirmed cases, reaching a peak of more than 130,000, and on January 14, it reported a daily increase of 65,000 confirmed cases. In the case of repeated blockades in various places and a high proportion of vaccinations, the epidemic situation has still worsened, making the Australian people strongly dissatisfied, and Djokovic's exemption has once again amplified the dissatisfaction.
At first, Morrison said in an interview that the Victorian government was responsible for the medical exemption. After the public's discontent increased, Morrison personally went down, saying that if the evidence of the exemption was insufficient, djokovic should not be special.
In the video, Vucic accused Morrison and the Australian authorities of what they had done, asking him "is it necessary to do this in order to win elections and please voters?" ”
Australia is expected to hold federal parliamentary elections in May, the exact date of which has not yet been announced. For Morrison, the polls show a less optimistic outlook.
Due to repeated lockdowns on major cities, worsening COVID-19, rising inflation and insufficient rapid testing reagents, a poll by Australian data agency Essential Research shows morrison's current approval rating fell below 50 per cent, at 46 per cent, while the disapproval rate rose to 44 per cent.
Blue is the support rate, and red is the support rate. Image credit: Essential Research
A poll by polling firm Newspoll in early December showed morrison's Liberal-National ruling coalition at 36 percent, down from 38 percent for the opposition Labor Party. The survey at the end of December showed that in the federal election, Labor would take 12 seats from the Liberal Party, up from nine in the last survey, and win more than 80 seats in the House of Representatives, with a majority of seats.
Border control is one of the Liberals' key issues. When Morrison was immigration minister in 2013, he introduced an iron-fisted policy, with the military leading border operations to prevent refugees from entering Australia by sea. At that time, the Australian authorities reactivated detention centres in island countries such as Papua New Guinea dedicated to the detention of refugees. The policy won Morrison voters and was attacked by human rights groups.
Dozens of refugees are still stranded in djokovic's current detention hotel. After djokovic's turmoil, rights groups marched outside the hotel to denounce Morrison's refugee policies.
The "anti-vaccine" representative is controversial
In addition to the inconsistencies in the Australian government's actions, Djokovic's own attitude towards vaccines and epidemic prevention policies is also controversial.
A quintessential figure in the fight against vaccines, Djokovic often shares "pseudoscience," including how to alter the composition of food with his mind; his wife has also retweeted videos claiming that 5G technology has sparked the coronavirus.
On January 10, 2022, Melbourne, Australia, the Xiaode visa storm continued to ferment, and fans gathered on the streets to express solidarity. Image source: Visual China
Previously, Djokovic had refused to disclose his vaccination status. It wasn't until the first hearing by an Australian court on his visa cancellation that court documents showed he had not been vaccinated. The documents also show he was infected with COVID-19 twice, the most recently testing positive on December 16 last year.
But then netizens pointed out that after December 16, Djokovic, who was supposed to be isolated at home, appeared at multiple event sites and even gave an interview to a French media.
In addition, upon arrival in Australia, Djokovic stated on the entry slip that he had not been to any place other than his place of departure 14 days earlier. Djokovic flew to Australia from Spain, and media reports indicate that he has also been to Serbia.
After the court ruled that his visa would remain valid, Djokovic posted on Monday admitting that he had also given interviews to French journalists in the face of COVID-19 because he did not want to "disappoint" the reporters. He said he wore a mask and maintained social distancing during interviews, only removing the mask when taking pictures.
Djokovic also admitted to filling in the wrong information on the entry form, saying that the intermediary had made a mistake when filling out the form: "This is human error, not intentional." ”
Australian official
Authorities said Tuesday that authorities were investigating whether Djokovic had "falsely reported" when filling out his entry form. If it is confirmed as a "false declaration", their visa can be cancelled.
On the morning of the 16th local time, the Australian Federal Court will hold a hearing on Djokovic's second appeal to decide whether the top seeded player can continue to stay in Australia to participate in the Australian Open. The hearing will be broadcast live on a video website to the world.
If Djokovic continues to play, disgruntled voters will be even more dissatisfied; if Djokovic is deported, his fans will criticize the Australian government. Regardless of the outcome, the storm will become a new "black spot" on Morrison's election path.