Officials at odds over whether or not rules should be tweaked to allow Novak Djokovic to compete at Australian Open
The official line from the Australian government is that players need to be double vaccinated in order to compete at the 2022 Australian Open, but there have been calls for a tweak to the rules that would see Novak Djokovic able to enter the country without being vaccinated.
The Australian Minister of Immigration Alex Hawke and Minister of Health Greg Hunt confirmed this week that all visitors, including tennis players, will need to have had their two shots against Covid-19 before being given visas to visit the country.
It put major question marks over world No 1 Djokovic’s title defence as the 20-time Grand Slam winner has previously voiced his opposition to vaccines.
Hunt, though, was adamant that Djokovic will need to be vaccinated stating the rules “apply to everyone without fear or favour. It doesn’t matter whether you are No 1 in the world or you are anything else”.
Novak Djokovic warned ‘it doesn’t matter if you are No 1 you need to be vaccinated’ to compete in Australian Open
However, Nationals backbencher Matt Canavan believes people who have already had the coronavirus should be allowed into the country due to their natural immunity and that would be good news for Djokovic as the world No 1 tested positive for Covid-19 in June 2020.
“We should change the rules. Those rules are wrong. I’m not saying it should be a rule for Novak, it should be a rule for everybody. If you’ve had Covid and have natural immunity, you’re better off,” Senator Canavan told Nine’s Today Show.
On the other side of the coin Victorian Australian Medical Association President Dr Roderick McRae explained why banning unvaccinated travellers is important.
“I understand he [Djokovic] had it [coronavirus] but, believe it or not, the immunity from the vaccination is better than the immunity from catching the disease,” he said.
“I think there is an element of standards [here]. It’s important our leaders make these decisions in our interests and it [banning unvaccinated travellers] demonstrates to the community just how important we take this.”
Latest
-
WimbledonWimbledon day four: Iga Swiatek and Rafael Nadal battle on
Katie Boulter, Heather Watson and Liam Broady won on Thursday to keep the British flag flying.
-
WimbledonAlex De Minaur joins girlfriend Katie Boulter in Wimbledon third round
The 20-year-old won the first set on Court One but fell to a 5-7 7-6 (0) 6-2 6-3 defeat.
-
WimbledonRafael Nadal at Wimbledon: ‘Every day is a challenge’
Rafael Nadal is prepared to grind his way into the second week at SW19.
-
NewsIga Swiatek made to sweat to progress at Wimbledon and extend streak
Karolina Pliskova was the big seed to exit the women’s draw on Thursday while Kirsten Flipkens bowed out.
-
WimbledonNick Kyrgios has the belief he can win Wimbledon
Nick Kyrgios believes in himself even if nobody else does.
-
WimbledonExclusive – John Lloyd on the key reason for the stunning form of Katie Boulter and British players at Wimbledon
The stunning success of British players at Wimbledon contunued as Katie Boulter, Heather Watson and Liam Broady all won.
-
WimbledonHeather Watson ‘pretty relaxed’ as she looks to break new ground at Wimbledon
This is Heather Watson’s fourth time in the Wimbledon third round.
-
WimbledonLiam Broady hails ‘amazing feeling’ after beating Diego Schwartzman for biggest win of his career
The British No 5 lost 11 games in a row but fought back to down the 12th seed.
-
WimbledonKyle Edmund set to end 18-month injury nightmare with Wimbledon mixed doubles appearance
The former world No 14 will play mixed doubles in SW19.
-
WimbledonWimbledon Centre Court delight for Katie Boulter and home crowd as she upsets Karolina Pliskova
Katie Boulter reached the third round of Wimbledon for the first time in her career.