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The government’s rushed attempt to deport the world No. 1 men’s tennis player was stunningly dismissed by an Australian judge, a startling defeat for an administration that prides itself on strong borders.
Novak Djokovic was cleared to compete in the Australian Open by Judge Anthony Kelly, who dismissed the government’s demand that he be excluded for failing to prove he is immune to Covid-19 vaccination.
Judge Anthony Kelly upheld Novak Djokovic’s right to compete in the Australian Open, dismissing the government’s demand that he be disqualified for failing to establish his immunity to the Covid-19 vaccine.
But for many Australians, the issue wasn’t Djokovic’s papers; it was whether he thought he was above the country’s health guidelines at a time when the number of Covid-19 cases is on the rise.
The number of Covid-19 cases in Australia surpassed one million as Djokovic’s lawyers argued that their client did everything humanly possible to meet the government’s requirements for a vaccinum exemption.
On the surface, those figures appear to support the government’s claim that Djokovic, who is unvaccinated, does not represent a severe health danger to Australians. It might also imply that Australia’s strong anti-Covid regulations have come to an end, which they have in many ways.
For millions of Australians, though, the memories of draconian border closures and other epidemic restrictions are still fresh.
Releasing Djokovic into the country months just before the federal election appears to contradict the ruling Liberal Party’s message that vaccinations are the only way out of the pandemic and that the pain of the previous two years in keeping Covid cases low was worth it.
However, by losing the court case, the government may have only succeeded in portraying one of the world’s most prominent anti-vaxxers as a victim and government officials as bullies using executive power to make a political point.
