If you play by the rules it's game, set and match
YourLifeChoices regular and retired teacher Dianne Motton shares her views on the Novak Djokovic visa saga.
I vividly remember a history class I ran a few years ago. The topic of immigration and border controls came up and I tried to explain to the naïve 14-year-olds that just because they wanted to go to a particular country didn’t mean they had the right to go there. The looks on their faces could only be described as incredulous. “What, can’t I just go to America and stay there for as long as I like?” came one of the plaintive cries.
I realised that despite many of them travelling overseas, their parents had always taken care of visas and made sure that they met immigration requirements. They had no concept about the legalities of travel and migration.
I tried to explain the varying rules and regulations around visiting and staying in various countries and why the rules existed – a way of controlling population growth, skilled workers and keeping 'undesirables' out of their country.
I can still hear some of them muttering, “But that’s not fair”, a whinge from the privileged class.
Hence, when I read news reports about Novak Djokovic and comments his mother made, my memory flew back to that lesson. The same whinge was repeated in his mother’s plaintive cry. She claims, regarding her son’s visa problems, that it was “unfair that the immigration minister alone has the power to make a final ruling on deportation.” The entire Djokovic family has engaged in emotionally charged rhetoric, some of gargantuan proportions, claiming he has been “imprisoned” and “crucified”. Really??
I had to laugh at her naivety and her sense of entitlement and ignorance. All governments around the world have the ultimate right to refuse entry to their country to any of us. The immigration minister of any country is merely the figurehead who voices the government’s stance at that point in time. Try standing on the demilitarised zone between North and South Korea and demand that you be allowed in. No matter how famous or rich you are I doubt that Kim would be happy to acquiesce to your demands.
Particularly in these unprecedented COVID times, countries have closed borders, tightened their rules even for the casual holiday-maker and focused on the protection of their citizens and livelihoods. As they should and as they have a right to.
Victorians, having suffered some of the longest lockdowns in the world, have a right to be angry that someone like Djokovic can flaunt our federal immigration rules, finding loopholes to cleverly avoid vaccination. It is irrelevant whether he is a champion tennis player, whether he has a mass following that wants to see him play and win another Australian Open, or whether his playing will bring in the crowds and money to Rod Laver Arena.
He has not abided by the rules of our country. Send him home where he can lament with his family about the appalling treatment he has received. His sense of entitlement will never let him admit he was he wrong.
What are your thoughts on the Djokovic saga? Should he be allowed to stay and play in the Australian Open?
it's a wicked problem for the Immigration Minister – be a hero and reward Djokavic antics and lies and undermine border security, or be a dick and enforce border security protocols without fear or favour.
Immigration should not have issued the visa in the first instance without checking veracity of the claims and boofhead Immigration officers at Tullamarine should have ensured procedural fairness and not cancelled visa at 7:42am instead of 8:30am.
Notwithstanding the controversy surrounding his visa application on 10 December claiming a medical exemption four days before the alleged exposure and six days ahead of the "positive" PCR returned on 16 December, he is photographed being out and about in the day after the "positive" result in contravention of Serbian law and sillent on sharing his positive result (unlike 2020). Djokavic says he did not find out he was positive until afterwards (this is contradicted by court documents). No matter, an Australian medical panel accepted his medical evidence on face value clearing the way for him to enter under a medical exemption.
It then eventuates that Djokovic not only had the gift of foresight about his covid infection, but also lied on his arrival declaration that he had not travelled out of country in 14 days prior to departure for Australia despite being photographed in Belgrade around Christmas. He pleads ignorance saying his team fills in his forms and it was human error.
Bottom line is Djokavic departed Spain for Australia and did not stay the previous 14 days in Spain as required. It does not matter if human error by his support team. If we ignore immigration laws for Djokavic because he can hit a tennis ball then it sets a low bar precedent that can be argued by other visitors. His visa should be cancelled unless Immigration can put hand on heart and say it would overlook same errors by someone not Djokavic.