BREAKING: Immigration minister Alex Hawke cancels Novak Djokovic’s Australian visa for a second time


BREAKING: Immigration minister Alex Hawke cancels Novak Djokovic’s Australian visa for a second time

Novak Djokovic

In interesting turn of events, World No.1 Novak Djokovic‘s Australian visa has been cancelled for the second time in 10 days. Australian Immigration minister Alex Hawke released a statement regarding the same taking into consideration the strict COVID policies of the Australian government.

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It was speculated since the last 2 days that Djokovic may get deported from Australia for not abiding by the law of the country. But his name was present in the Australian Open draw yesterday so it was assumed that the government may give Djokovic a clean chit.

But now the Immigration minister has exercised his power under section 133C(3) of Migration Act and has cancelled Djokovic’s visa. The statement dating January 14, 2022 read, “Today I exercised my power under section 133C(3) of the Migration Act to cancel the visa held by Mr. Novak Djokovic on health and good order grounds, on the basis that it was in the public interest to do so.”

He said that the decision made by federal court to reinstate Djokovic’s visa is nullified and that he’s making this decision considering all the available information. “This decision followed orders by the Federal Circuit and Family Court on 10 January 2022, quashing a prior cancellation decision on procedural fairness grounds,” he said.

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“In making this decision, I carefully considered information provided to me by the Department of Home Affairs, the Australian Border Force and Mr Djokovic. The Morrison Government is firmly committed to protecting Australia’s borders, particularly in relation to the COVID-19 pandemic,” the statement further read.

“I thank the officers of the Department of Home Affairs and the Australian Border Force who work every day to serve Australia’s interests in increasingly challenging operational environments.”

Will Djokovic appeal once again?

Novak Djokovic
Novak Djokovic

It was pre-assumed by Djokovic’s legal team that the Serbian maestro may once again get deported and hence they were already preparing to appeal in the federal court once again. The Australian Open will begin from Monday and they want to get things in place before that. So, Djokovic’s team is considering to appeal on Friday hoping that the appeal can be heard over weekend and finalised by Sunday.

Also read: Top Journalist Calls Out French Open for allowing Novak Djokovic to play unvaccinated and exempt Serena Williams for Catsuit

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