Scott Morrison has been slammed for an anti-vaccine “double standard” after Novak Djokovic was deported from Australia.
Scott Morrison has been accused of double standards over anti-vaxxers after tennis star Novak Djokovic was kicked out of Australia.
The world number one was sent packing on Sunday evening after a court upheld the Immigration Minister’s decision to deport Mr Djokovic on “health and good order grounds”.
In documents submitted to the court, Minister Alex Hawke said he considered Mr Djokovic presence in the country a “health risk” as it could foster anti-vaccination sentiment.
But that reasoning has raised questions about the conduct of a small but vocal group of Mr Morrison’s backbench.
“Mr Morrison can‘t pretend he’s tough on Novak Djokovic and then go weak when he’s got people like George Christensen and Senator (Matt) Canavan out there undermining our vaccine roll out,” Opposition home affairs spokeswoman Kristina Keneally said.
“If you really care about supporting the vaccine rollout, if you really care about ensuring that children get vaccinated, if you really care about ensuring that Australians get their booster shots, stand up today.”
Last year, Mr Christensen was censured by the parliament for his views on Covid-19 lockdowns and for spreading misinformation via social media.
His coalition government colleague Gerard Rennick has also used social media to share unverified claims about vaccine injuries.
Meanwhile, South Australian Liberal senator Alex Antic took to Serbian television to slam his own government’s decision to deport Mr Djokovic.
During an interview on Nine radio, host Ben Fordham pressed the Prime Minister on whether there was a double standard at play.
“Several coalition MPs have been spreading anti-vax messages for months and seem to have gone unpunished,” Fordham said.
“They’ve been using their positions as coalition MPs to spread anti-vax messages. So what action are you taking against them?“
However, Mr Morrison insisted the two issues were “conflated”.
“In Australia, if you’re an Australian, you’re a citizen, your resident and you’re a citizen, you can be here and you can express your views,” he responded.
“If you‘re someone coming from overseas and there are conditions for you to enter this country, well you have to comply with them. And it’s as simple as that.”
Originally published as Scott Morrison slammed for ‘double standard’ in deporting Djokovic
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