Immigration minister revokes Serbian tennis player’s visa after a court quashed an earlier revocation
Novak Djokovic is seen during a practice session ahead of the 2022 Australian Open at Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Australia, on January 12 2022. Picture: GETTY IMAGES/DARRIAN TRAYNORThe Australian government cancelled Novak Djokovic’s visa for a second time on Friday, saying the world tennis No 1, who is unvaccinated for Covid-19, may pose a risk to the community.
“Today I exercised my power under section 133C 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,” Hawke said in a statement. Under the section of the Migration Act which the minister used to exercise his power to cancel the visa, Djokovic would not be able to secure a visa to come to Australia for three years, except in compelling circumstances that affect Australia's interest.
The tennis star, a vaccine sceptic, fuelled widespread anger in Australia when he announced last week he was heading to Melbourne for the Australian Open with a medical exemption to requirements for visitors to be inoculated against Covid-19. A court on Monday allowed him to stay on the grounds that officials had been “unreasonable” in the way they handled his interview in a seven-hour process in the middle of the night.