So tennis World No.1 Novak Djokovic, has just failed in his court attempt to over turn the Federal Government’s second cancellation of his visa. He will now be deported.
I have oscillated between being against him being allowed in Australia and then being against his deportation.
The Minister for Home Affairs, Alex Hawke, made the decision to cancel Djokovic’s visa because his “presence in Australia may pose a health risk to the Australia community, in that his presence in Australia may foster anti-vaccination sentiment leading to:-
(a) other unvaccinated persons refusing to become vaccinated, and/or
(b) other unvaccinated persons being reinforced in their existing view not to become vaccinated, and/or
(c) a reduction in the uptake of booster vaccines.
In court today the Federal Government’s lawyer said:- Obviously, the Minister was aware his decision to cancel the visa would result in further unrest…But the Minister was principally concerned that Mr Djokovic’s presence would encourage others to emulate his position and would put Australians at risk. (end quote)
Here is my concern. Djokovic, is not being deported because his entry form may or may not have been wrong, nor is he being deported because he was not medically exempt from being vaccinated. He is being deported because his presence may incite civil unrest.
Now if we believe the Government, that Australians are almost 90% vaccinated, and let’s assume there are a few percent of the population who have a legitimate reason for not being vaccinated, this whole debacle is about a pretty small percentage of the Australian population.
And now that there has been a court ruling, there is a precedent, that ‘potentially inciting civil unrest’, even if just by your presence, has become punishable by deportation and who knows, what the punishment would be for Australian citizens. So effectively, we have taken another significant step away from being a free country, to one where the Government can potentially fine or lock up anyone, they deem to be not actually inciting civil unrest, but simply having the potential of inciting civil unrest.
That very well could be me.
Whether you agree or disagree with the decision the court made today about Djokovic, you should be concerned about the consequences for the broader population of Australia and our freedoms of expression.
Please share this blog if you agree.
Peter Pilt
Categories: Australian, Covid Related Posts, Govt BS
peterpilt 
Totally with you on this one Peter Well articulated
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Excellent points Pete, not that you need my okay. I just wish it would all end…I was hoping that if anything good came out of this C19 crap, it would be for every person (as well as government bodies) to see what’s important in the lives of every Australian.
The minister for home affairs has me gob smacked at his reasoning, what the hell?? Why wasn’t the original cancellation of Novac’s visa reason enough for deporting him…I’m so over the bureaucratic bs & twisted crap going on in government.
90% of over 12 year olds being fully vaccinated still leaves about 5,000,000 people over 12 years old unvaccinated, most of which live in high population density cities. Framing the rest as a ‘small percentage of the population’ really downplays the actual numbers. We are talking about 5,000,000 people all complelety unprotected from the virus, all with individual lives coming into contact with at least several other people every day, in the midst of the largest outbreak the country has seen so far with a varient that we don’t have a specific vaccine for yet. If I was the government, I would understand what 5,000,000 people could do. You can’t complain that the government doesn’t care about the small percentage of the population who don’t want to get vaccinated, but then turn around and say “why is the government caring about this small percentage of the population” just to fit your narrative.
It’s not ‘just his presence’ that he’s being kicked out for. It’s that he actually poses a health risk by increasing the number of people that are highly likely to spread the virus. In this current outbreak, that includes double vaccinated people, so really, noone should be allowed in.
You say civil unrest like that’s just fine, as if civil unrest doesn’t lead to terrible situations and that the government shouldn’t care about it.
When you say ‘free country’, it’s hard to reject the idea that what you mean is ‘I want the freedom to endanger other people’s lives without consequence’. I’m sure we’ll agree that total government control is a bad thing, but total freedom isn’t a good thing either. It’s about balancing our freedom with government control. Our country doesn’t actually protect any speech other than political speech, but that isn’t the same as prohibiting speech. If you don’t like the laws of your country, you have the ‘freedom’ to move to a different one.
Thank you for telling me what I should be concerned about btw. Glad to know I have people like you to think for me so that I can rest in complacency and ignorance.
Hi,
Just wondering where your 5,000,000 came from?
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Looking at the numbers on the Commonwealth Health web site it would appear that only 851,653 people over 5 haven’t had a first vax.
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https://www.health.gov.au/resources/publications/covid-19-vaccination-vaccination-data-16-january-2022
Must’ve gotten my math wrong. 500,000 over 16s.
I have probably oscillated between the two extremes in the Djokovic case, like yourself.
This whole situation is an ugly mess and I am embarrassed to be an Australian despite the reality that I feel angry that Djokovic was allowed to work when so many others cannot.
Heaven help us because clearly the politicians are not doing a great job of looking after us at the moment…
It would appear that Djokovic has no concern for the health and safety of his fellow tennis players. Or anyone in his close vicinity. This is a global Pandemic. His actions put innocent people at risk. Glad they are kicking him out.
there are still many poor dupes – even on here now – who still think he ‘endangered peoples’ lives’…still swallowing the narrative, despite the lack of proof and with so many speaking out about the downsides of the gene-jab…but well done, pulling the precedent out into the light; this monstrous thing will be a godsend to leftist governments of the future
Yes very insightful Peter. We, as a country, have sailed into very dangerous waters with a “Christian” PM at the helm. I had such high hopes for him at the start but now my faith in SM and his government are like “democracy and the rule of law”, washed up on the rocks….along with my idealistic belief in the “rationality” of my fellow citizens and of my fellow believer’s ability to hear and obey the voice of God. HE alone is our Hope and our Salvation…personally, nationally and globally.
Hasn’t quite got there yet, but American ‘communist’ blacklisting from the 1950’s in the making.
I think the government underestimates those who choose not to be vaccinated and that they have overestimated Djokovic’s influence…that is until they deported him. He stood up for what he believed in and those people whose behaviour the government is trying so hard to change through coercion are likely to respect that. Might be worth trying to understand why people choose not to be vaccinated rather than demonising them and treating them like the great unwashed and uneducated. But I guess it’s easier to fuel the mob mentality and make an example out of a perfectly healthy athlete who poses no risk to public health. I’ve always been indifferent to Novak Djokovic and tennis bores me, but he’s my new hero – he was treated like a criminal, abused by MSM and the public, at possibly a great cost to his career. He stood up for what he believes in and that is what will resonate with those who are doing the same.