Tennis

ABF to families asking for a hearing after 9 years in detention:

On the basis that Hawke’s decision is upheld and Novak is told to sling his hook, he’s theoretically banned from re-entry for three years.

Wonder whether he’ll be offered a deal that if he leaves with minimal fuss, we might overlook the re-entry ban so he could return for future Opens…

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I’d say something like that would be on the table. Then again, he is 34 so he might go “well I’ll win this Open and then not bother with the Aus Open again”. Standing up for beliefs or whatever.

This is delicious, I can’t get enough of this story.

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He should be detained immediately and sent back on the meg.

The interview / discussion just now on the Project seemed to be a good summary.

Djokovic will be taken into detention. He will appeal. The judge will be asked to consider giving him a bridging visa that allows work while the appeal is heard and he can still play in the AO. The 3 year ban would apply but could easily applied to be waived for the next AO.

Abul was shocked that the “public interest” grounds was used. He thought when introduced that this would only be used when someone presented an extreme risk to the Australian population.

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I saw somewhere today that tennis players are saying that they will need to be vaccinated to enter the USA for the next round of upcoming tournaments too. So he might find it difficult to ender other grand slams too.

The tennis players have also been speaking out against Djokovic staying. Some have been saying that they were vaccinated because it was a condition of entry to Australia to play. If he was allowed to stay unvaxxed it would be a double standard.

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That would be annoying though to those who haven’t been able to come into Australia. he should be treated like everyone else ans have the 3 years exclusion period. If it brings down thr government at the next federal election then (we’ll a number of things could) it would bring it.

I don’t like this idea that they should buy him off so they can clean this mess up. But that’s just me though. I am not sure if I post correctly is this what you mean?

So a plea deal basically?

Sadly I think the post above (from The Project) is what will happen.

Can’t Abdul rizvi keep his mouth shut for a few days? I’m pretty sure statements like that about the intention of a law can be used in court.

I feel very sorry for those in immigration detention and the Biloela family. It’s very sad to see them living in shitty conditions, getting terrible food delivered etc. I was disgusted to hear that someone in the same immigration hotel as Djokovic was asked to provide a statement on Novak’s presence there, when the media would never ask that person about their circumstances.

But we shouldn’t also forget that aside from being a celebrity, Novak is also a human - he has emotions like all of us. It’s not a good look stringing him along like this. The way this has all been handled has been shocking.

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So you blame the Immigration Minister for taking this long to cancel his visa? Do you blame the Immigration Minister and the previous ones for leaving all those in detention for years?

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If Alex Hawke always knew he was going to deport Novak he should’ve done it straight away rather than drag it on.

Don’t want to skew too far away from tennis, but IMO the way these people are being held in detention for prolonged periods is inhumane and Immigration Ministers and governments need to do better to support these people, but that’s for a different topic.

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There’s definitely an element of game playing going on here - announcing it after hours on the final business day before the tournament he’s due to play in starts is a planned maneuver.

Our border controls and their implementation are cruel, almost by design - it wouldn’t be surprising if they’ve elected to choose a path that could have a substantial impact on his ability to compete in the tournament if he’s allowed to stay.

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No detention for Djokovic tonight at least.

I’d say that Djokovic and his team have been planning this for months. No doubt they’ve got answers for just about every possible scenario.

TA have a lot to answer for by changing some of the rules to accomodate him.

The cancellation of course is making international headlines.

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Chances are pretty thin that a Federal court will overturn a federal decision.

Better book a seat on that Sunday night Emirates flight because it’s seems it’s heading that way.

A summary from the hearing:

Key updates from the emergency hearing called by the judge:

  • Government agrees to delay Djokovic’s deportation for now
  • A full hearing will be held on Sunday, before his match
  • The judge says it is still not clear how or why Djokovic received a medical exemption in the first place, but as this matter was already raised in the previous case it is not enough grounds for deportation so a new charge against him will need to be made - the Government has argued that allowing Djokovic to remain despite breaches of the rules and being unvaccinated would “excite” the anti-vax movement which would be to the detriment of the public good
  • Djokovic will not be detained overnight, but will be detained on Saturday
  • Djokovic’s lawyers are “worried about timing” - Tennis Australia is publicly supportive of Novak and are likely to delay his first round match until Tuesday night to buy him more time
  • If the Government does win the case, a 3 year ban from the country is likely to come into effect
  • If Djokovic wins the case on Sunday, he can still play the Australian Open