MELBOURNE: The Australian government cancelled Novak Djokovic’s visa for a second time on Friday, saying the world tennis No. 1, unvaccinated for COVID-19, may pose a risk to the community.
Immigration Minister Alex Hawke used discretionary powers to again cancel Djokovic’s visa, after a court quashed an earlier revocation and released him from immigration detention on Monday.
“Today I exercised my power under section 133C(3) of the Migration Act to cancel the visa held by Mr Novak Djokovic on health and good order grounds, on the basis that it was in the public interest to do so,” Hawke said in a statement.
Read more: Novak Djokovic wins legal battle to remain in Australia
Djokovic’s plight has been closely followed around the world, creating political tensions between Belgrade and Canberra and sparking heated debate over national vaccination mandates.
Djokovic, 34, had been held in an immigration detention hotel alongside long-term asylum seeker detainees since Thursday. He was at his lawyers’ chambers on Monday to hear the ruling, which included the government being ordered to pay his costs.
