So, it’s official: WrongThink will not be tolerated in Australia. If our supreme overlords even suspect you of harbouring counter-revolutionary sentiment, you’ll be sent packing from our glorious socialist republic.
Okay, so slightly hyperbolic — but only slightly. Because it’s almost precisely what the Federal Court’s full judgement against Novak Djokovic actually says.
In case you’ve been living under a rock for the past month, Djokovic, the world’s No. 1 tennis player, was spectacularly detained and eventually deported, soon after arriving in Melbourne to compete in the Australian Open.
The Federal Court, which ruled to deport Djokovic, has published its reasons, and they are clear: the Immigration Minister suspected (while not being able to prove) Djokovic of harbouring “anti-vaccination” views.
The Federal Court says in its reasons for rejecting the legal challenge by Novak Djokovic to the cancellation of his visa that it was “plainly open” to Immigration Minister Alex Hawke to infer the tennis star was opposed to vaccination against COVID-19.
The Serbian tennis star’s lawyers argued on Sunday that Mr Hawke was not able to make a finding concerning their client’s anti-vaccination stance. They said Mr Hawke had not sought Djokovic’s current views on vaccination and had relied on “selective” comments from a BBC article titled “What has Novak Djokovic actually said about vaccines?”
So, that’s it: a government minister merely has to cherry-pick a single news article in order to be able to peer into your head and divine WrongThink — and it’s zbogom to you.
They don’t even have to go to the bother of actually asking you what you think. Indeed, the Minister explicitly stated such to the court: “I have not sought the views of Mr Djokovic on his present attitude to vaccinations”.
The judges said that while Mr Hawke had not asked Mr Djokovic about his present attitude to vaccines, that only meant there was “no express statement to the contrary of what could be inferred to be his attitude up to January 2022”.
“Mr Djokovic had not volunteered any information when interviewed at the airport by officers of the Department of Home Affairs. He did not give evidence of any apparent change of attitude.”
MSN
Much of the media and social media commentary has focused on claims that Djokovic “broke the rules”. The judgement makes clear that that is neither true nor relevant. In fact, the judgement makes clear that Djokovic acted in good faith:
“I have taken into account that upon receipt of this letter, Mr DJOKOVIC considered that he had a valid medical exemption to come to Australia, and that he would thereafter be entitled to remain in Australia.”
Even Immigration Minister Alex Hawke admitted that, “I acknowledge that he has personally made no attempt to contravene any Australian law”.
The court also explicitly accepted that Djokovic had good reason for not being vaccinated (not that they bothered reading his submissions, even though they acknowledged they were “factual”.
I have also not sought or read the extensive factual materials which Mr Djokovic has provided on whether recent infection with COVID-19 is a medical contraindication against vaccination because I am willing to assume, in the time available, that Mr DJOKOVIC has a medical reason for not being vaccinated.
Federal Court of Australia
Instead, the judgement makes clear, again and again, that the Minister simply assumed that Djokovic is “anti-vaccination” and that he “is perceived by some as a talisman of a community of anti-vaccination sentiment”.
You couldn’t make this stuff up.