01-14-2022, 01:04 AM
It's now been a week since Djokovic was detained and rather than a decision we have indecision. Not a great omen for Djokovic as it suggests his claim of being infected on 16 December is being put under the microscope.
There is no justification for the delay otherwise. Alex Hawke clearly has a discretion to cancel visas and he would be able to call on his department and top barristers to make sure any decision he makes is bullet-proof. That preparatory work could have started as soon as he was detained last Friday and didn't need to wait for the Federal Court case. It's a personal discretion vested in the Minister for Immigration, so there's no need for him to wait for the Cabinet to make a decision. In fact, if he allowed Cabinet or the Prime Minister to dictate the decision, he'd be making a reviewable error. Of course, only the naive would think he would pay no heed to politics and the advice of his cabinet colleagues, but delaying the decision would spark conspiracy theories that he took into account improper considerations.
To make sure he is seen to take into account all relevant matters, he would have put Djokovic's lawyers in the hot seat. He would have called on them to make submissions to him regarding whether he should exercise his discretion to cancel the visa. This is pretty convenient because he can then state in shorthand that he's taken into account all of the matters Mr Djokovic has raised (or he can list those matters in his reasons for decision). That can be done pretty quickly, and if Djokovic's lawyers have failed to make speedy submissions, I'm sure Hawke would have blamed them for the delay.
So I reckon it's London to a brick that the delay is a result of a full-fledged investigation by the Federal Police and the ABF into the claim of prior infection. If it could be shown his medical exemption was obtained by fraud or Djokovic hid other matters that would have resulted in the cancellation of the visa, that would be a knock out blow for Djokovic. And it would result in a fairly large delay as natural justice would require the Minister to give Djokovic's lawyers a chance to respond to any proof of wrongdoing that might be uncovered. It would be the Holy Grail for Hawke: if Djokovic is caught red-handed, even his own supporters would find it hard to complain if he were deported. Public opinion in Australia would fall pretty much completely behind his expulsion.
There is no justification for the delay otherwise. Alex Hawke clearly has a discretion to cancel visas and he would be able to call on his department and top barristers to make sure any decision he makes is bullet-proof. That preparatory work could have started as soon as he was detained last Friday and didn't need to wait for the Federal Court case. It's a personal discretion vested in the Minister for Immigration, so there's no need for him to wait for the Cabinet to make a decision. In fact, if he allowed Cabinet or the Prime Minister to dictate the decision, he'd be making a reviewable error. Of course, only the naive would think he would pay no heed to politics and the advice of his cabinet colleagues, but delaying the decision would spark conspiracy theories that he took into account improper considerations.
To make sure he is seen to take into account all relevant matters, he would have put Djokovic's lawyers in the hot seat. He would have called on them to make submissions to him regarding whether he should exercise his discretion to cancel the visa. This is pretty convenient because he can then state in shorthand that he's taken into account all of the matters Mr Djokovic has raised (or he can list those matters in his reasons for decision). That can be done pretty quickly, and if Djokovic's lawyers have failed to make speedy submissions, I'm sure Hawke would have blamed them for the delay.
So I reckon it's London to a brick that the delay is a result of a full-fledged investigation by the Federal Police and the ABF into the claim of prior infection. If it could be shown his medical exemption was obtained by fraud or Djokovic hid other matters that would have resulted in the cancellation of the visa, that would be a knock out blow for Djokovic. And it would result in a fairly large delay as natural justice would require the Minister to give Djokovic's lawyers a chance to respond to any proof of wrongdoing that might be uncovered. It would be the Holy Grail for Hawke: if Djokovic is caught red-handed, even his own supporters would find it hard to complain if he were deported. Public opinion in Australia would fall pretty much completely behind his expulsion.