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The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
National
Mostafa Rachwani and Tory Shepherd (earlier)

Novak Djokovic wins interim injunction against deportation; more than 72,000 new cases nationwide – As it happened

What happened, Thursday 6 January 2022

Speaking of summaries, we will wrap up the blog for today.

Here is what went down today:

  • World mens number one tennis player, Novak Djokovic, had his visa officially cancelled. His legal team appealed against the decision, with the matter to go to a full hearing in the federal circuit court on Monday.
  • Prime minister Scott Morrison took credit for Djokovic’s visa cancellation, saying “rules are rules.”
  • NSW reported 34,994 new Covid cases overnight, with 1,609 people in hospital and 131 people in ICU. Six people died overnight.
  • Victoria has reported 21,997 new cases, with 631 people hospitalised, with 51 people in ICU. Six people died overnight.
  • Victoria announced new restrictions today, with density limits applying across the state, particularly at hospitality venues. The state will also mandate reporting of positive RATs.
  • Queensland has recorded 10,332 new cases, with 284 in hospital and 12 in ICU.
  • South Australia has recorded 3,070 new cases overnight, with 123 people currently in hospital.
  • Positive RATs will also need to be reported in South Australia, with the tests being provided for free for close contacts.
  • The Australian Capital Territory has recorded its highest ever daily number of cases, reporting 992 new cases overnight.
  • The Northern Territory recorded 256 new cases overnight.
  • NT also went into a territory-wide “lockout” from 1pm today until noon on Monday. Chief minister Michael Gunner said the fully vaccinated will not be affected by the “lockout,” which appears to only affect the unvaccinated.
  • Western Australia reported nine new Covid cases today.
  • Experts criticised changes to testing requirements announced yesterday, with Prof Tony Blakely saying the “horse has bolted.”

Thanks for reading.

Updated

The ABC is reporting that the Australian Border Force is investigating two more players granted medical exemptions by Tennis Australia.

The two people are one player and an official, and it comes after world mens number one Novak Djokovic had his visa cancelled, and is currently in hotel quarantine.

Updated

Cait Kelly has been down at Park Hotel today, and has been posting some of the very interesting happenings there on Twitter, including more dancing:

Updated

Djokovic case to go to full hearing on Monday

Ok so with that, we have some clarity on where things go from here. Both parties agreed to an interim injunction that prevents Djokovic from being removed from Australia until then.

With the tournament 10 days away, both parties discussed the timing and the need to have a judgement handed down soon, although the court has yet to see all the submissions, with the judge urging the parties to submit them in a timely manner.

The matter is now listed for hearing at 10am on Monday.

Updated

Chris Tran, who is representing the immigration minister, said they do not actually oppose an interim injunction to prevent Djokovic from being removed today, just that they wanted it to be a short interim break.

The hearing was just adjourned, with parties agreeing to pick it back up on Monday.

Updated

OK so it appears Novak Djokovic’s challenge of his visa cancellation will go to a full hearing in the federal court on Monday, with Djokovic likely to stay in Australia in the interim.

Judge Anthony Kelly has asked the parties to make their evidence and submissions over the weekend ahead of the potential hearing, with Djokovic’s lawyers saying it might be “tight”.

Updated

Lots of discussion initially in the federal court on the scope and timing of Novak Djokovic’s appeal, with Judge Anthony Kelly putting to the parties the pressing nature of the matter and the potential for “cascading” appeals from the government making the current hearing important to the overall outcome.

Updated

And we are on standby for the continuation of Novak Djokovic’s appeal in the federal court, which should start momentarily. We should get a clear picture tonight of what will occur over the coming days, but no guarantee either way.

Updated

Gareth Liddiard’s band, Tropical Fuck Storm, have announced they are pulling out of the Sydney festival, following a growing list of artists and performers boycotting the festival.

The band released a strong statement about their decision, saying they urged Sydney festival to reconsider its relationship with the Israeli embassy, which is sponsoring the event for $20,000.

The deal sparked calls from Palestinian activists for artists to boycott the event, with a host of them responding and pulling out.

Tropical Fuck Storm called the sponsorship “dodgy, pointless and controversial” and criticised the festival for putting artists in difficult positions:

Rather than immediately announce online that we’d jump ship, we thought we’d actually try to do something in the real world for everyone involved and try to encourage Sydney Festival to do the right thing and fix the problem they created, that problem being Sydney Festival taking on a sponsor so dodgy, pointless and controversial it would inevitably mean that hundreds of unwitting artists (who are having a rough enough time with the pandemic as it is) would become the targets of online harassment, bullying, smear campaigns, ridiculous accusations, misrepresentations and abuse from total strangers who have no idea what’s actually going on behind the scenes, what any artist’s position is or even what they’re talking about.

It is a problem we didn’t create and one we weren’t aware of until about 48 hours ago.

At the time of posting, Sydney Festival has stated they have no intention to refund the money or sever the sponsorship relationship, even though the shit sandwich they’ve landed every billed artist in is blatantly obvious to them.

Due to this complete lack of respect and integrity towards the artists billed from Sydney Festival and its partners, we have decided to cancel our two appearances.

Musician Hope D, costume designer and visual artist Gerwyn Davies and comedian Tom Walker also withdrew from the program in the last 24 hours, joining more than 20 acts/individuals who are boycotting the festival, which opens tonight with the Israeli embassy-sponsored performance Decadance.

Read more here:

Updated

Sticking with Djokovic for a bit (a recurring theme today), earlier today Victorian health minister Martin Foley returned serve (sorry) on accusations it was the Victorian government behind the visa debacle.

Foley pointed out the federal government issued the visa, which was subsequently cancelled, saying Victoria cannot actually issue visas.

“It doesn’t say ‘Victoria’ on the Australian passport. It says ‘Australia’.

The Constitution makes it pretty clear that it is the Australian commonwealth that issues visas, although given how much the commonwealth seem pretty keen on outsourcing responsibility to the states on most things, who knows what the future will be?

Someone issued Novak Djokovic a visa and it wasn’t the Victorian government.

Updated

Refugee Action Collective Victoria has released a statement on the Djokovic issue, focusing on the fact that he is being held at the Park Hotel, where 36 refugees are currently detained.

RAC Victoria’s Chris Breen called on the PM to use his powers to free the remaining refugees detained at the hotel.

Prime minister Scott Morrison has made a populist move to quell outrage over Djokovic’s special treatment by cancelling his visa, but this only highlights the arbitrary nature of Australia’s border regime. If Djokovic was an au pair, he may well have got in.

Will Australian Border Force instruct the Serco guards to make the windows open-able again to protect the un-vaxxed tennis star from Covid? (Serco sealed them when medevac refugees arrived there in Dec 2020, and tinted them to hide the refugees from view).

The real crime at the Park Hotel is the ongoing and arbitrary detention of 36 medevac refugees for more than eight years now.

Updated

So earlier today, WA premier Mark McGowan posted on Facebook, urging people to “not be a dropkick” when dealing with venues requesting proof of vaccination.

McGowan, who has always shown a penchant to add his own spin to things, asked people to not be rude to staff asking for proof of vaccination at high-risk venues, saying it made everyone attendance a little safer.

If you’re asked to show your proof of vaccination, don’t be a dropkick.

There is never an excuse to be rude to staff – not now, not ever.
It’s not the Western Australian way.

Requiring proof of vaccination for higher-risk venues means that everyone in attendance is safer.

It’s already been rolled out in some other states and there is no reason WA can’t do it too.

Updated

So the matter has been adjourned until 6pm, wherein we will continue our coverage of Djokovic’s attempts to have his deportation reversed.

An interesting tidbit at the end was a discussion on the scope of the hearing, with parties agreeing that a visa was actually issued, and that the matter at hand was the cancellation of the visa, not the requirements of the visa itself.

It’s a small difference that I’m sure will matter once the hearing begins properly.

Judge Anthony Kelly has begun proceedings by first stating that he would like to have the matter resolved today, which I think everyone can agree is a good thing.

Good afternoon, Mostafa Rachwani with you this afternoon, a quick thanks to Tory Shepherd for her stellar job this morning. Novak Djokovic’s appeal is in the federal court right now, and we will bring you updates as they come.

Serbia’s Novak Djokovic seen here in February 2021.
Serbia’s Novak Djokovic seen here in February 2021. Photograph: William West/AFP/Getty Images

Updated

I’m handing you back to Marvellous Mostafa - stay tuned for that Novak Djokovic court case...

Western Australia records nine new Covid cases

Western Australia has reported nine new Covid cases.

One new local case is not related to the backpacker cluster. The case is a household contact of security guard from the Hyatt hotel who earlier tested positive.

Eight other cases were international and interstate arrivals in isolation.

Updated

Some more details on the impending court case with Novak Djokovic (which we’ll cover as it happens).

AAP reports there was a brief hearing at 3pm today but that there was no formal application or supporting evidence filed. Justice Anthony Kelly (who confessed to not knowing a lot about tennis) said:

I need to know a little more than I presently do about the conditions of the applicant. I don’t think it’s unreasonable to ask for the court to ask, as an open question, whether the particular hotel in which the applicant is staying or may be able to stay might have available to him tennis practising facilities.

Not the court he was hoping for ...

Updated

My brain cannot compute the fact that South Australia was essentially Covid-free until the borders opened in late November. There’s speculation the state’s outbreak will peak in two weeks ... Life moves pretty fast.

Updated

Vulnerable Covid patients are set to miss out on the lifesaving treatment sotrovimab, doctors say, because it must be taken within five days of getting sick.

Waiting times for PCR tests and results, a lack of rapid antigen tests, and the need for a GP referral could mean treatment comes too late, according to the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners.

(Now with some added details on the available treatments.)

Updated

Some more detail on the South Australian situation:

Some of you are a little sceptical about Scott Morrison’s advice that they can report a positive rapid antigen test to their GP and get advice – mostly because lots of people don’t have a regular GP they can just buzz when they want. Let’s also spare a thought for the GPs themselves:

Updated

Jacqueline Housden moved back to Australia after 18 years in the United Kingdom. It was not a seamless transition:

Oddly, my dreams of our new life had not included my mother bursting into work meetings holding a kilo of raw chicken and launching into a raft of complicated cooking options, or my dad rushing past to use the spare fridge as I attempted to look vaguely professional on a Zoom call.

Updated

Thank you, Mostafa! Tory Shepherd back with you now, having restored myself slightly. On with the afternoon!

Gunner says authorities are assuming roughly a quarter of reported cases are the Delta variant.

I want to reassure Territorians that while the replication rate is faster than what I want to see, we can flatten the curve, which we had done before and we will do it now.

We have a mix of Delta and Omicron in the territory. Evidence is mounting that Omicron results in less hospitalisations.

We are assuming half of the cases are Delta at the moment for decision-making but it’s growing more evident that ... this is a conservative assumption as [it’s] more likely a quarter of [cases are] Delta.

We are transitioning between Delta and Omicron. Our priority is to keep community transmission low, and hospital case loads manageable.

Updated

NT goes into 'lockout' for the unvaccinated

Gunner has announced a “territory-wide lockout” from 1pm today until noon on Monday.

From noon Monday, a vaccine pass system will be introduced.

Only residents and essential workers will be allowed to enter “excluded communities” in the NT, and they must show a negative RAT result on day of entry.

Gunner said the fully vaccinated will not be affected by the “lockout,” which appears to only affect the unvaccinated.

They can only leave home for medical reasons, to buy essential goods and to provide care.

If you are not fully vaxxed, stay home. You are at greater risk of catching Covid, getting ill and needing hospital care.

Updated

NT records 256 new cases

Northern Territory chief minister Michael Gunner has stepped up to give a Covid update, announcing the territory has reported 29 new cases overnight.

Gunnar said the territory will keep requiring people to confirm their positive rapid antigen result with a PCR test.

Covid is often an exponential problem. One positive case in the community usually sees more than one person infected. Our community reproduction rate has remained below one. Yesterday and today, it has jumped well above one.

To maintain our caseload, to manage it within our health system, we need to keep our case numbers steady.

Updated

ACT records 992 new cases

The Australian Capital Territory has recorded its highest ever daily number of cases, reporting 992 new cases overnight.

Updated

A small crowd has now gathered to show support for Djokovic.

About 10 supporters, some draped in flags, are playing Serbian music and singing.

Novak supporters wait outside his hotel quarantine
Supporters of Novak Djokovic wait outside the quarantine hotel where he is being held. Photograph: Cait Kelly/The Guardian
Novak supporters wait outside his hotel quarantine
Novak supporters wait outside his hotel quarantine
Some have turned up draped in Serbian flags. Photograph: Cait Kelly/The Guardian

There is also now dancing.

Updated

RAT changes in South Australia

The South Australia premier, Steven Marshall, has announced some changes to the way rapid antigen tests will be distributed and recorded in the state.

Close contacts will be able to get a RAT, with a new system introduced whereby people can contact SA Health and obtain a QR code.

They then have to show that code to staff at collection points to get two RATs.

That means the people getting the tests are being registered, with officials then following up so the RAT results can be recorded in daily numbers.

Marshall said it would ease the pressure on PCR testing sites:

If they get a positive on day one, they’ll be deemed Covid positive. No need for a corresponding PCR test.

Updated

South Australia records 3,070 new cases

South Australia has recorded 3,070 new cases overnight, with 123 people currently in hospital.

It’s a slight drop on yesterday’s numbers, with 12 people currently in ICU.

Updated

Royce Kurmelovs has pulled together today’s palaver into something I think we all need:

And now for a light moment from Matilda Boseley:

New South Wales hospitals are clearly under strain, as Covid numbers in the state rise rapidly (with the 35,000 cases now likely a fraction of the true daily count).

While Victorian numbers are soaring too, other states such as South Australia are not far behind.

Here’s some detail from an email from one person worried about conditions for her granddaughter, a young doctor at the Royal Adelaide Hospital:

Like most of her colleagues, she’s committed to her job, extremely conscientious and hardworking.

Even before Covid she regularly started her shifts early to be up to date with all patient info and invariably finished late. The health system in SA has had punishing funding cuts over many years and now, with the pandemic, is failing to cope.

My granddaughter is now being called in to extra 13-hour shifts, admitting Covid patients all day. She is badly stressed and exhausted but there’s no way she can take a break as her fellow staff are all feeling the strain and are already overloaded themselves.

It’s an impossible situation and I fear very much for the long-term consequences on these young willing workers.

Our health minister blithely says that the system is working. It isn’t.

Particularly the frontline workers are being pushed beyond any acceptable limit.

I particularly hate the denial of our governments about the failings of their departments. Truth and reality are sadly lost to them it seems. Admitting problems is the crucial first step to improvement.

I’m guessing there are many similar examples around Australia. If you would like to contact me, please try peter.hannam@theguardian.com

Two Novak Djokovic supporters have arrived at the Park Hotel, where it’s thought the tennis star is being held.

Billy Misovic and her husband, Ziggy, came down to show their support for the Serbian.

Waving a flag from Djokovic’s hometown, Belgrade, they yelled “free Novak”.

“We came to support the number one,” Billy said.

“It’s ridiculous, he’s got an exemption why not let him in?”

Asked about Djokovic’s vaccination status, Ziggy said: “It’s a private matter. Do I ask if you have Aids? It’s private.”

Billy said they understood the frustration of Victorians but that Djokovic had been “humiliated”.

“My father passed away two years ago. He was in Serbia. The boarders were closed, I understand (the frustration),” she said.

The hotel is currently housing 46 refugees. The windows do not open, they are not allowed on the roof for fresh air and have recently reported finding maggots and mould in their food.

Advocate Jenny Leah says she comes everyday to show her support, and has never seen this many members of the media.

“There are dozens of media here today, we are here every day – we get a lot of support from passing motorists, tram drivers, but never any media,” she said.

“To us, it says something about the priorities of the media, and public.”

Some of the refugees have recently been released on bridging visas but the future of those left inside is unknown.

If Djokovic is in there, Jenny says he will receive very different treatment.

“He’ll get to leave.”

Updated

People, that got pretty wild! There was a lot going on, and I’m a little anxious that I’ve missed something. But fear not. I will retrace my steps and make sure everything you need is here.

Victoria to mandate reporting of positive rapid test results

Still in Victoria – it will now be mandatory to report positive rapid antigen test results to the health department by phone or using an online form.

A positive home test will carry the same obligations as a positive PCR test.

Acting chief health officer, Prof Benjamin Cowie, said with significant transmission of the Omicron variant, pressure on the PCR testing system, and millions of rapid tests being ordered by the Victorian government, the rapid antigen tests will now have the same “authority” as a PCR test. He said:

We know that based on laboratory data coming in, greater than 90% and in some laboratories greater than 95% of people that have a rapid antigen test go on to have that result seconded by a PCR. Rapid antigen has provided really high degree of diagnostic authority. That’s why other countries around the world, including for the United Kingdom, did shift to the use of rapid antigen tests in a similar way when we got to this point.

So this is the biggest change to our testing system since the start of the pandemic. In terms of context, I think it is important to reflect the number of people that our PCR testing system diagnosed yesterday was greater than the number our PCR testing system diagnosed for the entire 2020, and it’s likely that in the first 10 days of this year, our testing system will diagnose more people than it did in all of 2021. That’s the sort of volumes we’re talking here.

Rapid antigen tests
Victorians will now be required to report positive rapid antigen test results by phone or online. Photograph: Jordi Boixareu/ZUMA Wire/REX/Shutterstock

Updated

Victoria announces new restrictions

The Victorian government has announced new restrictions.

Victorian health minister Martin Foley has announced new density limits for the state, as Covid cases continue to rise. From 11.59pm tonight, there will be new restrictions on the number of people in hospitality venues.

Density limits of one person per two square metres will be enforced in indoor hospitality and entertainment venues.

That limit won’t be applied to cinemas and theatres, because people are seated and masked.

The government has also urged all venues to shut down indoor dance floors and only have seated food service and Victorians have also been urged to work from home.

Updated

Queensland has announced another record day of Covid cases.

The state detected 10,332 cases in the 24 hours to 7pm last night. One person has died, bringing the state’s total deaths during the pandemic to nine.

284 people are in hospital, 12 in intensive care and two require ventilators.

The death in Queensland was a man in his 80s who died just prior to Christmas. It is now considered to be Covid-related

The Queensland health minister, Yvette D’ath, has again called for patience as Covid testing centres in the state continue to be overwhelmed. Some people will be given take-home rapid antigen tests to help ease the congestion.

D’ath says the state needs to prepare for Covid in the same way communities prepare for storms or cyclones and people need to prepare supplies to last a seven-day isolation.

Updated

'Enough vaccines for every single child': PM

Morrison, having been asked earlier about parents struggling to get appointments for their children’s vaccinations, says it simply can’t be so:

There are enough vaccines in the country to vaccinate every single child (from) five to 11 between now and school going back. There’s plenty of vaccines. You heard that from Lieutenant General John Frewen yesterday. And it starts on Monday. And those vaccines are being distributed as we speak.

Updated

Here are those Queensland numbers:

Morrison is also being asked about the short supply of rapid antigen tests, whether Australia was caught unprepared (I’m fairly sure it was our own Sarah Martin grilling him on this).

Morrison uses his nifty little trick of pretending criticism of him and his government is actually criticism of someone else (I’m sure you can spot it):

The whole country, and the whole world, has been in a similar situation. As I said yesterday, there are plenty of armchair critics and people who’ve said what could have been, but those who are actually doing it every day, and the health officials who have responsibility for it every day, those who are regulating vaccines – which have very profound implications for people’s health – and I don’t accept the suggestion that they haven’t been doing their job.

I think they’ve been doing their job extremely well and under extraordinary pressure in a very uncertain environment. There’s no guidebook to Covid. We all know that. So what I think’s important is the country just focuses on the task ahead. Keep looking through that windscreen. That’s where I’m looking. We’re looking forward.

Updated

Morrison has been asked about people quarantining at home. He said:

I would encourage people to become familiar with the supports that are in place. Support is already there for those who are in the situation, where they are forced, because of a state government requirement to isolate, to access the pandemic relief payment. Large numbers of Australians have done that, and it has been an important tool that we have had, has been funded together with the states and territories.

Our health professionals understand, like in every single country, you are not going to capture every case, you do not capture every case now with PCR, and that is why we are moving to ensure that we could get that transfer from PCR tests to rapid antigen tests, for the sheer bulk, and for the states to put in place the best way they came to record as many of those cases as they can. That gives you the trends, gives you an indication of what the potential impact sell your hospital system, but I do not agree with the assertion that says it cannot be done, of course it can be done. It has been done in other countries, and that is what the state will put in place now.

But what I stress is, what is more important than knowing how many cases there are, which frankly is getting less and less important, what matters is (people in hospitals, in intensive care, and on ventilators) that is the real measure of what the impact is. The real issue is that people are connected to care. That is what I am concerned about, I want to make sure that if somebody has Covid that they are connected to the care and support that are available, including the pandemic leave payments.

Updated

Morrison emphasised that it’s not the case numbers that matter (as the testing regime changes). What matters is that “people are connected to care”.

He has also been asked about workforce issues, with Covid absenteeism affecting healthcare, and leading to empty shelves in supermarkets. He said it was a “key discussion” at national cabinet yesterday.

Many sectors of the economy have been affected by workforce shortages because of people being furloughed because they have Covid. Not even because they are close contacts, because they had Covid. With higher case numbers that is going to have an obvious impact on the workforce.

Right at the moment we are very focused on distribution and the healthcare workers in aged care workforce, (we’re very focused) on distribution centres... food production, and transport. And that is one of the reasons why yesterday we agreed to remove that testing requirement for truck drivers. We need truck drivers to keep on trucking, that is what we needed to do to keep moving things around, and right now they are delivering vaccines, to GPs and pharmacists, and that system is of course under strain because of the high case numbers. But that is the nature of Omicron, you just have just got to keep pushing through.

Back to prime minister Scott Morrison. He has been asked if Novak Djokovic had been subjected to harassment (Serbian president Aleksandar Vučić claimed earlier today that he was).

Morrison said he didn’t believe he was at all:

Australia has sovereign borders and clear rules that are non-discriminatory as so many countries do ... it has to do with the fair and reasonable application of Australia’s border protection laws.

It is not appropriate for me to go into Mr Djokovic’s own medical history. That would not be a fair thing for us to do. That is a matter for him to discuss in terms of his own medical history. But all I can say is that the evidence medical exemption that was provided was found to be insufficient.

Scott Morrison speaking during a press conference at parliament house in Canberra on Thursday morning,
Scott Morrison speaking during a press conference at parliament house in Canberra on Thursday morning, Photograph: Lukas Coch/AAP

Updated

Queensland records 10,332 new Covid cases

Prime minister Scott Morrison is still talking, I’ll catch you up on that in a second. In the meantime, Queensland has recorded 10,332 new Covid cases, and one person has died.

There are 284 people in hospital, and 12 in intensive care, including two on ventilators.

Updated

Tennis star Novak Djokovic could not prove the medical exemption he claimed he had, Morrison said:

It is on them to have the proof to show why they would not have to be vaccinated. He was unable to furnish that proof to Border Force officers at the airport last night and they are the rules and it happens on many occasions and that is what has now happened.

He goes on to wade into the argy bargy (mentioned below) about the role of the Victorian government:

There were inquiries being made about whether quarantining was going to be waived and to my knowledge I still don’t know whether the Victorian government were proposing to waive quarantining, I am not making any comment on that. That was not the basis of any decision taken.

And he’s reading a letter from the federal government to Tennis Australia from back in November:

People must be fully vaccinated as defined by Atagi to gain quarantine-free entry into Australia. That means people who do not meet the definition will not be approved for quarantine-free entry. In relation to the specific questions raised by Tennis Australia, this is from the minister for health, I can confirm that people who have contracted Covid-19 in the past six months and seek to enter Australia and have not received two doses of a TGA approved or recognised vaccine are not considered fully vaccinated.

That was the clear advice given by the minister for health to Tennis Australia and that letter is dated at the end of November of last year.

So this is why I make the point to travellers, whatever people might tell you, what matters is what you are responsible for when you arrive at the border.

Updated

Morrison is using the Djokovic situation to talk about his government’s handling of the pandemic:

We were one of the first countries to move to shut our border. We were criticised at the time, but it was the right decision, and we have maintained those important border controls over the entire period of the pandemic.

We have tightened them even further on occasion, again we were criticised for doing that, it was the right decision. We will continue to make the right decisions when it comes to securing Australian borders in relation to this pandemic. Our government has strong form when it comes to securing our borders.

Getting on a plane is not an assurance you’ll be able to get into Australia, Morrison says. He says people are welcome to come to Australia, but if you’re not double-vaccinated and you’re not an Australian citizen, “you can’t come”.

Morrison on Djokovic: 'rules are rules'

Now we’re getting there. Prime minister Scott Morrison is talking about how tough on borders he is, using the Novak Djokovic case as an example. He said:

On the issue of Mr Djokovic, rules are rules. And there are no special cases, rules are rules. It is what I said yesterday, that is the policy of the government ... stronger border protection policies, and particularly in relation to the pandemic.

Updated

Morrison said getting kids back to school is very important, as is getting them vaccinated:

Parents want to know that the vaccines that their children are being given are safe, and we have had the best regulatory expert panel in the world (giving) that assurance... that program will begin next week. That enables us, the program that we have, to have schools come back, stay back, day one, term one.

More Covid booster shots delivered Wednesday than any day of vaccine rollout: PM

On boosters, Morrison said:

Some 22,565 boosters were provided yesterday. To put that in context, that is more doses of a booster than has been given in one day, that was achieved on first dose in any one day, or second dose in any one day.

He said Australia is “on track” for the vaccination rollout for children aged five to 11 that starts next week.

Updated

Prime minister Scott Morrison is kicking off a press conference now, talking about the new defence strategic partnership with Japan (probably not what everyone’s hanging out to hear about) ...

Updated

Guardian Australia understands that Tennis Australia was told in writing more than once that a recent Covid infection is not an acceptable reason not to be fully vaccinated if you want quarantine-free entry into Australia.

Atagi did not endorse the process that the Victorian government or Tennis Australia put in place, Guardian Australia has been told.

A travel exemption from the Australian Border Force was not requested and the commonwealth was not engaged.

Updated

Tasmania reports 751 new Covid cases

Tasmania has reported 751 new Covid cases, which is a drop from the record 867 cases reported yesterday. One person has been admitted to hospital.

Updated

'Biggest failure so far': experts react to testing changes

Experts have been reacting to the announcement on the changes to testing.

University of Melbourne epidemiologist Prof Tony Blakely said surveillance numbers would no longer be accurate. He told Seven:

The horse has bolted, this is the biggest policy failure so far in Australia.

We also haven’t thought about how you can load up that data to the surveillance system, so we won’t get that in place in the next couple of weeks.

Infectious disease expert Prof Peter Collignon said the situation had changed, according to AAP:

What you need to do is stay home for the seven days, keep away from others and decrease the chance of spreading it to them as much as possible.

If you’re vaccinated and are a 30- to 40-year old, your chance of coming into grief is really low. We have support if you need it but don’t get on the (PCR) queue and delay the older people who may need to be in front of you.

Updated

More than 72,000 new cases have been recorded so far today, from New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia, the Australian Capital Territory, the Northern Territory, Western Australia and Tasmania.

NSW had 34,994 new cases and six deaths – and about 31% of those tested were positive, which is an alarming proportion. Six people died, and there are now 1,609 people in hospital, and 131 in intensive care units.

In Victoria there were also six deaths, and 21,997 new cases. Victoria also has a positivity rate from testing of about one in three. 631 people are in hospital with 51 in intensive care.

Queensland has recorded 10,332 new Covid cases, and one person has died.

There are 284 people in hospital, and 12 in intensive care, including two on ventilators.

Tasmania has reported 751 new Covid cases, which is a drop from the record 867 cases reported yesterday. One person has been admitted to hospital.

South Australia has recorded 3,070 cases, with 123 people currently in hospital and 12 in ICU.

The ACT has recorded its highest ever daily number of cases, reporting 992 new cases overnight.

The Northern Territory has recorded 256 new cases, and a Territory-wide lockdown has begun.

WA had nine new cases, one of which was local.

I’ll keep adding results here as they come in.

Updated

Here’s Sarah Martin with all the details on those free rapid antigen tests (for some):

There’s an ongoing barney about whether it was the federal or the Victorian government making decisions about Novak Djokovic’s (attempted) entry into Australia. State Labor minister Jaala Pulford had tweeted yesterday:

The federal government has asked if we will support Novak Djokovic’s visa application to enter Australia. We will not be providing Novak Djokovic with individual visa application support to participate in the 2022 Australian Open Grand Slam.

But home affairs minister Karen Andrews says that’s not the case:

Updated

Labor leader Anthony Albanese has been on the ABC this morning, talking about access to rapid antigen tests and the federal government’s plan to give them to concession card holders for free. He said:

Well, this is too little, and it of course is too late. The [Australian Medical Association] were saying we should prepare for this from last September, which is when the [Therapeutic Goods Administration] granted approval.

And what we have here is a federal government that once again has been caught being complacent, not putting in place the plans. If you fail to plan, you’re planning to fail. And that is what we are seeing here. We are seeing Australians are anxious, they are concerned about the health of themselves and their families. They just want to do the right thing, as they have been doing for two years.

And the easiest and simplest way is to make free tests available for all, just like PCR tests are available and free. But, of course, the reason why we have moved to rapid antigen tests is because of the failure to plan properly to stop the long queues that formed that caused such frustration in Australia.

Updated

“We’re used to people using us as Uber drivers but it’s never been this absurd.”

It was the Australian Border Force who stopped the tennis star coming in, but...

Cait Kelly has been meeting Novak Djokovic’s fans at Melbourne airport (see below for what they had to say):

Video: When asked how many tests he had personally paid for, prime minister Scott Morrison suggested his wife, Jenny, had purchased them when needed for private purposes, but otherwise he had used stock provided by the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet.

Have a read of this from Peter Hannam: “Tweed hospital has no Covid diagnosis equipment, is operating a makeshift triage tent and has nurses doing ‘double shifts every day’ as local cases triple.”

Updated

Novak Djokovic fans Slobodan Bendjo and Krstomir Dusanovic have been waiting at Melbourne airport since midnight, ready to welcome the tennis star.

Armed with an accordion and Serbian flag, the pair have been walking around the airport playing music.

“We are here to await the champion,” Dusanovic said.

The pair said they were not deterred by the fact the tennis star was being told to leave Australia. Bendjo said:

We’ve still here to welcome him, he’s just here somewhere behind these walls, he’s not far way from us.

We always, when he comes here, welcome him with music. It’s a traditional thing you do.

We think it’s important we continue with the tradition.

The pair said there has been a lot of negative news lately and they hoped to bring some positivity.

“Obviously we are disappointed but that’s something we can’t change. We have no influence,” Bendjo said.

Novak Djokovic supporters Krstomir Dusanovic, left, and Slobodan Bendjo outside Melbourne airport on Thursday.
Novak Djokovic supporters Krstomir Dusanovic, left, and Slobodan Bendjo outside Melbourne airport on Thursday. Photograph: James Ross/AAP

Updated

NSW reports 34,994 new Covid cases

Updated

Victoria reports 21,997 cases

Updated

Cait Kelly is at Melbourne airport, so she’ll help keep us all up to speed. In non-Djokovic news, Elias Visontay has written about fury and frustration with the aged care sector:

The scene at Melbourne airport, where Novak Djokovic is currently being detained, is very quiet.

The arrivals lounge is largely deserted, aside from the waiting media and a few members of the public here to meet family and friends.

Tennis Australia did have several cars waiting for the star, but they have since left.

It is expected Djokovic and his team will be transported to a hotel soon.

Updated

Karen Andrews, home affairs minister, did give a hint of how things might play out.

AAP reports that, before Novak Djokovic’s arrival, she said that while the Victorian government and Tennis Australia may allow a non-vaccinated player to compete in the Australian Open, it was the federal government that dealt with border entry requirements.

“No individual competing at the Australian Open will be afforded any special treatment,” she said on Wednesday.

Rather droll.

Tasmanian senator Jacqui Lambie said Novak Djokovic should be send home. AAP reports she told the Nine Network:

I really don’t care whether you have power or money. If your visa is not satisfactory and you haven’t got the right one, send them home.

He might be a tennis great but he has to play by the rules and regulations for other Australians and people coming here.

Hey – if you’re just tuning into the wild twists and turns in the Novak Djokovic story, here’s how it all began:

Richard Colbeck, the aged care minister, was asked on ABC’s Radio National this morning about Novak Djokovic’s border wrangle. He said:

The prime minister said no special treatment, that’s the perspective we are applying here as we should.

Anyone coming to Australia has to have the documentation to demonstrate that they can meet the eligibility criteria to come into Australia.

Australian Border Force cancels Novak Djokovic’s visa

Here’s confirmation that Novak Djokovic’s visa has been cancelled – the Australian Border Force has put out a statement:

The ABF will continue to ensure that those who arrive at our border comply with our laws and entry requirements.

The ABF can confirm that Mr Djokovic failed to provide appropriate evidence to meet the entry requirements to Australia, and his visa has been subsequently cancelled.

Non-citizens who do not hold a valid visa on entry or who have had their visa cancelled will be detained and removed from Australia. The ABF can confirm Mr Djokovic had access to his phone.

Updated

Health minister Greg Hunt told Nine’s Today show that the Australian Border Force was reviewing his exemption:

I don’t have specific details. I apologise. The general proposition is this ... We have taken a very strong approach to ensuring equity of the rules for everybody. Unvaccinated people, as a general rule, cannot come into Australia unless there is a medical exemption.

That process has been led by the Victorian government. My understanding is that the Border Force is reviewing that. I don’t have details beyond that.

Updated

Serbian president Aleksandar Vučić says on Instagram that he has spoken with Novak Djokovic today. Here is the Google translation:

I just finished a phone conversation with Novak Djokovic. I told our Novak that the whole of Serbia is with him, and that our authorities are taking all measures to stop the harassment of the best tennis player in the world in the shortest possible period. In accordance with all norms of international public law, Serbia will fight for Novak Djokovic, for justice and truth.

A fan of Serbian tennis player Novak Djokovic is seen waving a Serbian flag while awaiting the arrival of Novak Djokovic at Melbourne international airport on Thursday.
A fan of Serbian tennis player Novak Djokovic is seen waving a Serbian flag while awaiting the arrival of Novak Djokovic at Melbourne international airport on Thursday. Photograph: Con Chronis/AAP

Updated

Good morning – Tory Shepherd here with you. Well, to be honest, not all here yet. But getting there.

The big story this morning is Novak Djokovic. People have many feelings about this one.

The world tennis No 1’s flight landed around midnight and he’s still being held at Melbourne airport. He flew to Australia after announcing he had been granted an exemption from strict Covid vaccine requirements, but there is some kind of hold-up. The Age reports a source saying there were questions about whether the Serbian player had adequate documentation to back up his exemption.

His father Srdan is there and is not happy. He has reportedly told Serbian media:

I have no idea what’s going on, they’re holding my son captive for five hours. This is not a fight for the libertarian world, this is not just a fight for Novak, but a fight for the whole world!

If they don’t let him go in half an hour, we will gather on the street, this is a fight for everybody.

So he’s taking it calmly, then.

We’ll bring you all the latest on Djokovic. And of course we’ll have all the latest Covid news with testing changes kicking in, and calls for more free rapid antigen tests to be made available.

The ball’s in play, let’s get into it.

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