Leave pass for Djokovic would set a hell of a precedent

Thank you, Chris Kenny, for pointing out the key fact in the Djokovic debacle: it was the federal government that issued his visa (“It’s shame, set and match … and the Djoke is on us”, 8-9/1). Many writers seem to think it was Tennis Australia or the Victorian government.

Maybe they pushed too hard, wishing to promote the Australian Open, but it was not they who gave him the authority to come. He got on the plane with a valid visa to enter Australia, issued by the Morrison government. Like him or loathe him, it is extraordinary that the same government put him in detention when he presented that visa on arrival. He is the victim of the politics of populism; I have a suspicion that Roger Federer may have been treated differently.

The whole debacle is all over the world press and reflects very badly on Australia.

Betty McGeever, Cottesloe, WA

Those calling for the prohibition of Djokovic from playing in Australia should look to their own beliefs and motives for doing so. He is very highly paid and arguably the world’s best “entertainer” of that genre. To throw him into the maelstrom of what is a politically engineered failure of those we pay to look after our wellbeing follows the doctrine of George Orwell’s warning in Nineteen Eighty-Four. From what is published, it appears that he has complied with guidelines. If at any time since the end of World War II we have needed encouragement to get outside and become active, surely it is now.

I call on politicians to do what you are handsomely paid for and get those public servants to follow orders.

Peter Black, St Andrews, Vic

The problem with Novak Djokovic entering Australia is not so much that an Australian agency has muffed it but that he is a loud anti-vaxxer and he is running a convoluted argument to avoid the simple and easy requirement to get vaccinated. He isn’t claiming a medical exemption, he is merely claiming that he’s had Covid, twice, and this allows him to avoid vaccination requirements.

Crazy logic? Yes, it is. Should we accept it? No, certainly not. Will Australia continue to require that students and farm labourers coming into Australia to help our economy recover in 2022 be vaccinated? I think we will; it makes sense to require it even if Omicron is raging. Will Australia allow them to use the excuse of having had Covid as an exemption for the vaccination requirement? No, we won’t. We cannot give Djokovic a leave pass because it sets a hell of a precedent. I hope the judge uses common sense to untangle the mess.

Zrinka Johnston, Cleveland, Qld

Chris Kenny’s comments regarding the Djokovic issue hit the bullseye. Unfortunately, as has happened with so many bureaucratic bungles through the Covid era, the vast majority of the public has meekly gone along with their elected officials.

The old Aussie adages of a fair go, never dob in a mate and don’t sweat the small stuff have given way to the paranoia of a feeble-minded obsequious citizenry that has all too easily been coerced by fearmongering governments and opportunistic media outlets. Give me a knockabout Aussie any day.

Tony Courtin, Violet Town, Vic

Rosemary O’Brien (Last Post, 8-9/1) wonders if Roger Federer would have attracted the same public demand for deportation as Novak Djokovic. Maybe not, but it’s arguably an academic question: Federer, like Rafael Nadal, is a respectful, likeable bloke who, on past form, is unlikely to display the in-your-face sense of entitlement that begs for an almighty put-down, particularly at a time when so many lesser mortals have been obliged to make huge personal sacrifices.

Unlike Federer and Nadal, Djokovic is surely his own worst enemy.

Helen Jackson, Higgins, ACT

And we thought getting to the bottom of what happened in Wuhan was complicated. It has nothing on the complications of Novak Djokovic’s visa application and approval. However, I do think finding the origin of Covid-19 is a little more important to mankind than Novak. Can we please get on with the important things?

Jennifer Ashton, Gold Coast, Qld

When I arrived here from Scotland in 1927 Australia was still growing but fiercely independent. The treatment of Novak Djokovic by state and federal governments has certainly tarnished the image that defined us in those earlier days.

William Horn, Blairgowrie, Vic