While the attempt to deport Novak Djokovic within 24 hours of his arrival, and on the eve of the Australian Open, has been welcomed by millions of people who believe the tennis great had been given privileged treatment, many questions about how this saga unfolded remain unanswered.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The most obvious, given the Australian Border Force has said "Mr Djokovic failed to provide appropriate evidence to meet the entry requirements to Australia, and his visa has been subsequently cancelled", is on what basis was that visa issued in the first place?
If, as the Prime Minister was quick to point out, permission to enter Australia can only be granted by federal authorities - not the Victorian government or Tennis Australia - why wasn't Mr Djokovic's visa application rejected on the basis he was not double vaccinated?
If, as Mr Morrison and Border Force assert, "rules are rules" and that nobody is above the law regardless of how famous or important they are, that is what should have happened in light of subsequent events.
Was the visa granted on the basis of deliberate misinformation or because a member of Mr Djokovic's support staff made an error in filling out the application?
Mr Morrison's disclosure of the contents of a letter sent by federal authorities to Tennis Australia has only muddied the waters. It said "people must be fully vaccinated as defined by the ATAGI to gain quarantine-free entry into Australia, which means that people who do not meet the ATAGI definition of fully vaccinated will not be approved for quarantine-free entry, regardless of whether they have received foreign vaccine exemptions".
Mr Morrison went on to say that "in relation to the specific questions that were raised by Tennis Australia, this is from the Minister for Health: 'I can confirm that people who contracted COVID-19 within the past six months and seek to enter Australia from overseas and have not received two doses of a TGA-approved or TGA-recognised vaccine are not considered fully vaccinated'."
"That was the clear advice given by the Minister for Health to Tennis Australia and that letter is dated at the end of November of last year."
If the situation was this clear cut how was it even possible, regardless of any exemptions granted by Tennis Australia and the Victorian government, for Mr Djokovic to be led to believe a visa application would be successful?
While he has been roundly condemned by many commentators who allege he was gaming the system, and told by the Prime Minister no less that he was the author of his own misfortunes, the man who is arguably the world's greatest tennis player might not be the only one at fault here.
The Djokovic visa debacle has also cast doubt on the efficacy of the medical exemption application processes put in place by Tennis Australia and the Andrews government - both of which have a vested interest in having him play in the Australian Open - and on what will happen to other unvaccinated players who may have slipped through using the same process.
Given the Home Affairs Minister Karen Andrews has said reports this may have occurred will now be investigated one can only assume any other unvaccinated players or team members will also be sent packing.
Any failure to do so would only add further fuel to claims Mr Djokovic, whose deportation is a timely distraction from the federal government's rapid antigen testing woes, has been singled out for special treatment.
It is not enough to claim, as Mr Morrison did on Thursday, that the 20 time grand slam winner had put himself on the ABF radar. One would hope that every unvaccinated person seeking to enter Australia would be subject to a very high level of scrutiny.
Send a letter to the editor
Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content:
- Bookmark canberratimes.com.au
- Download our app
- Make sure you are signed up for our breaking and regular headlines newsletters
- Follow us on Twitter
- Follow us on Instagram