Sydney, AUSTRALIA – 10-Jan-22 – LawFuel.com –
Human rights lawyer and National Justice Project CEO, Professor George Newhouse has today commented on the conduct of the Djokovic case in the Federal Court by Home Affairs.
First of all, we have to put to one side any personal feelings we might have regarding Novak Djokovic or the anti-vaccination movement.
The real issue here is that the Australian Constitution allows racist and discriminatory laws to be made. Historically, these affect only Indigenous people and refugees. For once, it is affecting a wealthy and well-known sporting star.
Mr Djokovic is getting a taste of how our capricious and cruel immigration regime is enforced. There are men in detention with Djokovic who have been detained for over 8 years now. The extreme power of the Australian government to lock up aliens has its roots not only in the Constitution but also the White Australia policy. It is embedded in our legal system.
Because the victim is world famous, for once the extreme cruelty of the Australian government’s policies is getting international attention.
Mr Djokovic is lucky to be able to talk to his lawyers and loved ones. The Australian government simply ignores international humanitarian law, in 2017 the National Justice Project had to go to the Federal Court to stop the Minister for Immigration from taking phones from all immigration detainees.
It’s a policy designed to isolate individuals, undermine their well-being, and limit their ability to effectively put their case. People think that Australia is a friendly nation but you cannot imagine how badly refugees and asylum seekers, who have committed no crime, are treated here.
Adjunct Professor Newhouse can be contacted on +61 (0)422 255 109. For further information please visit our website – www.justice.org.au
