A MASSIVE BUREAUCRATIC AND GOVERNMENT STUFF UP
The Djokovic story continues, but sadly truth seems to have been a casualty.
The Prime Minister is right, though stating the obvious that no one can enter Australia without meeting the rules of entry.
It is also true that Australians have gone out of their way to get vaccinated.
And if they are fed this media diet of Djokovic trying to get into the country, unvaccinated, then unless they are told the truth, they are rightly indignant.
But as I have said before, Djokovic landed in Melbourne having done everything required of him by Australian authorities.
He did not issue the exemption. Two panels of experts signed off on a blind application for exemption.
That is, Djokovic's name, country and status did not appear, only the reasons why an exemption should be granted. And it was.
Then, you cannot get on a plane in Serbia to come to Australia unless you have the appropriate visa.
He did not issue the visa. Australian authorities at Border Force, the old Customs, must have deemed the visa entitled Djokovic to travel and enter.
The exemption rules applied by two independent panels of experts were developed by the government's own Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation.
They gave Djokovic the tick on exemption.
That does not determine his right to enter Australia. That is determined by the Department of Home Affairs and Australian Border Force.
Surely when applying for the visa, Djokovic's name and status are clear.
If on arrival in Australia, something was flawed about the visa, why was it not flawed, in the eyes of the same officials, when he got on the plane?
This surely has nothing to do with the views Djokovic has expressed on vaccination.
This is simply what Australians face every day of their lives - a massive bureaucratic and government stuff up, with now the federal government trying to blame the Victorian government and vice versa.
There is an election coming up.
Scott Morrison sniffs the wind of public anger but it is directed at Djokovic, not public officials who signed off on his applications.
The Migration Act has a Public Interest Criterion 4007, which says that a visa applicant must be "free from a disease or condition that is, or may result in the applicant being a threat to public health in Australia or a danger to the Australian community".
Yet the federal bureaucrats in the Department of Home Affairs granted Djokovic a visa.
Surely Djokovic had every reason to believe he would be allowed to enter Australia.
As I have said, he used his visa to board the plane and at all major airports overseas, there are Border Force officers who help decide who can board a plane to Australia.
Someone in government should answer why Djokovic was not prevented there and then from getting on the plane.
Or did some junior official not even know who he was or what was his vaccination status? There is every chance that that is the case, Border Force again asleep at the wheel.
Then there is Section 116 of the Migration Act which gives Border Force officials the power to cancel a visa, assuming the visa holding is given proper procedural fairness.
Forget the emotion in all of this and the hate that has been generated towards Djokovic, surely a reasonable person would argue that Djokovic has not been given procedural fairness.
What changed from the moment he was granted a visa to board a plane to Australia and the point at which he got off the plane?
He apparently was not a risk to public health when he got on the plane, why is he a risk now?
If there are issues, why were they not addressed at the point of entry when he got on the plane?
This checking before boarding is a necessary procedure to prevent thousands of Djokovic's being turned away once they land in Australia.
The reality is simple. From where a reasonable person stands on this matter, Djokovic, whatever else might be thought of him, could not be the issue.
The Department of Home Affairs and Border Force are ultimately responsible for all visa approvals and they have a lot of questions to answer.
Government should not be allowed to sidestep those questions and feed on the inaccuracies being dished out to the public.
