Tough love for Djokovic on vaccination entry rules

Bureaucratic ineptitude by Victorian officials has resulted in an unnecessary international controversy and has humiliated the world’s No. 1 tennis player who erroneously was led to believe he was free to participate in the Australian Open. Instead, Novak Djokovic has been denied entry to Australia, his visa terminated and he is detained pending a legal challenge.

Despite Djokovic’s high-profile anti-vaccination stance, his treatment is not personal. But it has been taken as a national slight by the Serbian government and inflamed the passions of Djokovic supporters around the world. The whole situation is highly regrettable and on the evidence presented to date is the result of errors in the process being administered by officials from the Victorian government and Tennis Australia in Melbourne. Djokovic may well have satisfied a panel of doctors that he met the requirements necessary to play at the Australian Open. But on his arrival, Australian Border Force officers determined he could not demonstrate that he met the national rules for entry to Australia, the ultimate jurisdiction.

According to statements made by federal Health Minister Greg Hunt on Thursday, this was not the result of oversight or misunderstanding on the part of Victorian officials. Mr Hunt wrote to Tennis Australia chief executive Craig Tiley on November 29 detailing policy advice from the ABF on quarantine-free entry into Australia. Mr Hunt said an individual must be fully vaccinated under the definition set by the Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation to gain quarantine-free entry into Australia. Mr Hunt told Mr Tiley that an individual who had contracted Covid-19 in the past six months and who had not received two vaccine doses would not be considered fully vaccinated. If Djokovic was given the impression he was free to play in the Australian Open without meeting these requirements he is entitled to feel deeply embarrassed and aggrieved. Launching a Federal Court appeal late on Thursday, lawyers for Djokovic said one ground of the legal challenge was unfairness or unreasonableness. Federal Circuit Court judge Anthony Kelly adjourned the matter until 10am on Monday.

Djokovic’s argument should not be with the Australian government. Scott Morrison is correct to say that immigration laws must be applied equally, and ultimately it is the responsibility of the traveller to be able to assert and back up their ability to come into the country consistent with our laws. The Prime Minister said Djokovic did not hold a valid exemption, contrary to the tennis player’s earlier claim on Instagram this week that he had one.

Given the public reaction, first to news Djokovic had been given an exemption by Tennis Australia and then to his detention, it is to be expected that many will see the decision through a political lens. But this is not a Tampa moment of being tough on borders for Mr Morrison; it is a dispassionate application of the rules that are in place. It can be argued that sporting and performing arts stars deserve special consideration because of the financial impact their involvement can have throughout the community. But citizens who have been forced into lockdown, denied access to relatives and prevented from crossing state borders are entitled to have little sympathy for exceptions being made for the rich and famous. As an island nation, Australia must take issues of biosecurity and national borders seriously. The umpire’s call is tough love.