Australia’s former deputy secretary of the Department of Immigration Abul Rizvi has weighed in on the next possible steps on the Novak Djokovic saga.
Speaking to ABC Radio Melbourne this afternoon,Mr Rizvi said allegations the tennis star had provided false information in his declaration constituted grounds for Immigration Minister Alex Hawke to cancel Djokovic’s visa.
However,he believed Mr Hawke would refrain from doing so.
“I think the government is probably not very happy with how all of that is playing out in the media … their preference I suspect will be to try to finish this issue as quickly as they can,” he said.
If Mr Hawke chose to cancel the visa,Mr Rizvi said Djokovic would be given a notice of intention to cancel his visa by the Australian Border Force and taken into immigration detention again.
The Serbian player would then have the right to appeal the decision in court,but that could prevent him from playing in the Australian Open.
Mr Rizvi said the easiest solution was for the government to sit down with Djokovic,work out a way to reassure the community the tennis player did not pose a risk to public health and allow him to play in the tournament.
“The government is between a rock and a hard place and either tries to close this issue down within two or three days,or it can keep it going for a week or two.”
Mr Rizvi said the government should have reviewed and cancelled Djokovic’s visa when he applied in November.