Melbourne once boasted about being the sporting capital of the world. But it also once boasted about being “the world’s most liveable city”.
Then, along came Dan and the CCP virus.
Could any Melbournian boast about the “liveability” of their city now, without provoking howls of laughter? As for sport…
Premier Daniel Andrews’ decision not to seek exemptions for unvaccinated tennis players to enter Victoria is not just about a depleted tennis grand slam but also brings into question the ability of the state – and country – to host major sporting events.
In a way, this is a rare instance where I’ll damn “Dictator Dan” with faint praise for at least being consistent. After all, how would it look, if ordinary people were threatened with fines and jail time, not to mention loss of jobs, for not obeying Victoria’s dictatorial “health orders”, yet multimillionaire sports players were allowed to do as they please?
In the words of opposition leader Matthew Guy, “If we can’t travel as ordinary citizens unless we are double vaccinated, nor should sports stars or celebrities.”
As things stand Novak Djokovic, who has repeatedly refused to disclose if he has been vaccinated, will not be allowed into Victoria for a tilt at a record 21st grand slam.
But this is not just about Djokovic. It was recently reported a large cohort of professional tennis players are unvaccinated – on latest estimates up to 35 per cent of male players and 40 per cent of female players […]
As Andrews said, it is “the only fair thing to do” to mandate vaccines for players, given fans and people working at the tournament are required to be fully vaccinated. He is not wrong.
On the flip side, if the Victorian government made a different set of rules for Djokovic and unvaccinated tennis players, then how does that play out with anti-vax AFL players, who face the sack from their clubs if they do not get jabbed?
Even better: the whole fiasco is serving to show just how destructive Victoria’s covid panic-mongering really is. The covid state has cost the nation tens of billions while it’s been locked down for the past two years. So, it’s some small recompense, if Victorians see their beloved big-name sports events poached by other states (the AFL Grand Final has already been held interstate for the past two seasons).
South Australians in particular will no doubt feel some justified schadenfreude, should the Grand Prix that Jeff Kennett poached from Adelaide get filched in turn from Melbourne.
It’s no secret that cashed-up countries in Asia and the Middle East have had their eyes on Australia’s grand slam event.
China has an estimated 330 million tennis fans and 15 million players. Japan and Singapore are other potential hosts of the first slam of the tennis year.
The question is: Are the players more valuable to the Australian Open than the tournament is to them? No one yet knows the answer, but how it plays out could shape the future of major events in Australia […] Victoria’s Grand Prix is being circled by NSW politicians […] Then there’s football’s 2023 Women’s World Cup.
The Australian
But event the prospect of losing their beloved sporting events can’t seem to shake Melbournian’s slavish devotion to the Dear Leader.
With a little over 12 months until Victoria is due to vote on November 26 next year, the polling shows Labor would lose a handful of seats but still win a third successive term in government.
The new opposition leader has edged forward a little over his predecessor, but support for the Liberals is slipping, too.
What the polling seems to indicate is not just the astonishing, state-wide Stockholm Syndrome that’s gripped Victoria, but an echo of the national trend that sees voters deserting both major parties.
The latest swing away from Labor has instead delivered gains to independents, with support for candidates not aligned with any major party almost double what it was in 2018.
The Age
Scott Morrison’s caving in to the noisy climate lobby ahead of Glasgow is threatening to demolish the massive swing to the Coalition in Queensland at the last election. But those voters are no more likely to support the Tweedledee of Anthony Albanese’s Labor than they are the Tweedledum currently in the Lodge.
Scott Morrison has everything to lose at the next election — and he’s doing his best to lose it.
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