Coalition split over deporting Novak Djokovic, as ABF investigate declaration statement

Government MPs are divided over whether Alex Hawke should deport Novak Djokovic, amid the possibility of a sit down with the tennis ace and his lawyers.

People look at an image of Novak Djokovic at the Melbourne Park tennis centre on Tuesday. Picture: William West.

Novak Djokovic practised at Melbourne’s Rod Laver Arena on Tuesday, stepping up preparations for next week’s Australian Open, as Coalition MPs split over whether Immigration Minister Alex Hawke should use his powers to deport him.

Tennis Australia officially named Djokovic as the Australian Open’s No. 1 seed for the men’s competition as the tennis star shifted his focus from Monday’s Federal Circuit Court victory to his quest for a record 21st grand slam victory.

As his family celebrated his court victory in Serbia and Scott Morrison and the Serbian Prime Minister tried to ease tensions over the Djokovic detention with a late-night phone call, Mr Hawke continued to deliberate over whether he would remain in the country.

Djokovic claimed a medical exemption from being vaccinated because he contracted Covid-19 in December, but the federal government has argued that this does not constitute a valid reason for an exemption.

“In line with due process, Minister Hawke will thoroughly consider the matter,” Mr Hawke’s spokesman said.

Liberal MPs split over the dilemma surrounding the unvaccinated Djokovic, with the member for Ryan, Julian Simmonds, saying there should be no special dispensation for unvaccinated people entering the nation, ­famous or otherwise.

Djokovic during a practice session at Melbourne Park on Tuesday. Picture: Scott Barbour/Tennis Australia

“Australian citizens and other visa holders coming to Australia unvaccinated are required to quarantine and they expect Mr Djokovic to comply with the same rules,” he told The Australian.

“Many Australian families have had to make sacrifices when it comes to travel during the pandemic and expect the same rules to apply to everyone.”

North Queensland Liberal MP Warren Entsch disagreed, saying the government should accept the Federal Circuit Court decision.

“At the end of the day, there’s been a decision made by the courts. I don’t think we should be overruling that,” he said.

Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabić requested a call with Mr Morrison to request that her compatriot was “treated fairly and all his rights be respected” while emphasising the importance of Djokovic’s training conditions.

The Prime Minister stressed that Australia had a non-discriminatory border policy.

Former Immigration Department deputy secretary Abul Rizvi said the three options available to Mr Hawke were not ideal.

By not cancelling his visa, the Morrison government would have to sit down with Djokovic and his lawyers to decide how he could participate in the tournament without being a risk to ­public health.

The remaining two options involved cancelling his visa, one through natural justice, providing Djokovic’s lawyers with notice of intention and allowing them 24-48 hours to respond, which would require him to be re-­detained by border officials.

Immigration Minister Alex Hawke. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Martin Ollman

The third option would see Mr Hawke exercise his ministerial discretion, but would need the government to establish that it was not in the public interest for Djokovic to remain in the country, most likely as a threat to public health.

“If you don’t give him natural justice, then it looks really bad in the media. But it looks even worse when the matter goes to appeal. Courts don’t like it when governments make decisions without giving people natural justice. And the odds of losing the case increase,” he told The Australian.

Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews distanced his government from Tennis Australia’s decision to grant Djokovic a medical exemption, despite the fact that he was unvaccinated.

He also cited comments from former Australian Open winner Rafael Nadal when asked whether the Djokovic saga had damaged the reputation of the tournament. “I think Rafa (Nadal) and a few others have made the position very, very clear. This tournament is much bigger than any one person,” he said.

“It’s a Grand Slam, it’s the biggest thing in tennis in the first quarter of the year, every year. It’s a massive event for us, and it’s bigger than any one person, whether in the court, or on the court.”

South Australian Liberal senator Alex Antic backed Djokovic remaining in the country. He said he had written to Mr Hawke to express his concern about the ongoing “damage to Australia’s international reputation”.

“Mr Djokovic has done everything asked of him, satisfied the Federal Court that his visa should stand and therefore must be allowed to stay,” he said.

“It is a timely reminder that we are lucky to live in a country which abides by the rule of law and has the benefit of a separation of powers. These are critical tenets of a Western liberal democracy and must be honoured.”

Retiring Bennelong MP and former professional tennis player John Alexander took aim at the government’s handling of the Serbian’s visa exemption and urged Mr Hawke to allow Djokovic to remain in the country.

Labor questioned how the Morrison government had ­allowed Djokovic to enter the country without a valid exemption in the first place, saying the debacle had damaged Australia’s international reputation. “How is it that we still haven’t had an explanation, how is it that Novak Djokovic was given a visa in the first place if he wasn’t eligible?” Anthony Albanese told reporters on Tuesday.

“Novak Djokovic’s view on vaccinations has been a lead story in every sporting feature of every newspaper in the world for months. And now we have a circumstance whereby he arrives in the country ... we have a crisis all of the government’s own making.”