Rules are rules and…: Aussie PM on Novak Djokovic's deportation from Australia
Premium- ‘The rule is very clear,’ Prime Minister Scott Morrison told a news conference. ‘You need to have a medical exemption’
The first tennis grand slam of the year Australian Open is off to a rocky start after vaccine-skeptic Novak Djokovic failed to provide evidence of double vaccination and now may be deported from Australia which has strict pandemic entry requirements.
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said, “Rules are rules and there are no special cases." "The rule is very clear," Prime Minister Scott Morrison told a news conference. "You need to have a medical exemption. He didn't have a valid medical exemption. We make the call at the border, and that's where it's enforced."
Morrison said it was up to individual travelers to have correct documentation on arrival, while responding to questions about confusion over the differing state and federal requirements.
The prime minister rejected the suggestion that Djokovic was being singled out, but he acknowledged that other players may be in Australia on the same type of medical exemption.
"One of the things the Border Force does is they act on intelligence to direct their attention to potential arrivals," he said.
"When you get people making public statements about what they say they have, and they're going to do, they draw significant attention to themselves."
Anyone who does that, he said, "whether they're a celebrity, a politician, a tennis player . . . they can expect to be asked questions more than others before you come."
Novak Djokovic had to wait more than eight hours at the airport to find out if he would be allowed into the country.
He was later moved to a secure hotel near downtown Melbourne which is controlled by immigration officials.
The Australian Broadcasting Corp. and other local media reported that action had been launched in the Federal Court against the cancellation of Djokovic's visa.
Quarantine-free access wouldn't have been an issue if Djokovic had been able to prove he was fully vaccinated for the coronavirus. Novak Djokovic is the defending champion of Australian Open.
*With inputs from agencies
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