by PAUL COLLITS – NOVAK Djokovic is in the news yet again. The tennis great was infamously excluded from the US Open by a barely coherent US President, on the grounds of being unvaccinated.
One of the fittest, healthiest individuals on God’s earth was deemed a threat to the health of Americans. Tennis greats like John McEnroe called this nonsense out.
- We are constantly reminded that the Liberals still don’t get it.
- Defend the substance of Djokovic’s position. Defend Thorburn’s position.
- Otherwise, the Liberals can expect us to vote for Parties that will.
Even more infamously, Djokovic was excluded from the Australian Open last January, courtesy of the then Minister for Immigration, one Alex Hawke. Now, mercifully comfortable at the bottom of the dustbin of history.
Factional warrior Hawke’s main claim to fame is to have triggered the NSW Liberal Party, or, at least, some of the few remaining people of principle within that organisation, to taking Scott Morrison to court over his electoral shenanigans. Captain’s picks, and all. And his exclusion of a tennis great from Australia. Quite the legacy, Alex!
RE-THINKING
Now the question of Djokovic’s status in relation to the next Australian Open has surfaced. This plays directly into the Liberal Party’s re-thinking of its role in creating and sustaining the COVID State in Australia.
With recent Liberal rumblings over the COVID lockdown and vaccine mandate regime activated and maintained by the Liberals when in government, one might have expected some liberalism (and guilt) to have emerged.
One Dan Tehan opened up and expressed some second thoughts, as well he might.
But now Tehan is the Shadow Minister of Immigration. Let the dissembling begin. Let the corporate fealty to the Liberals reign.
Here is Tehan-speak on Novak Djokovic and his chances of competing in the next Australian Open. The Sky News headline reads: “Novak Djokovic expected to apply for visa to compete in Australian Open as Opposition’s Dan Tehan defends 2022 ban”.
“Defends the ban”. Wow. His rationale was complete, self-serving gobbledygook.
It demonstrates, in one line, that the Liberals have learned nothing from their role in the establishment and maintenance of the mandate State. And if they have learned nothing from this mess, they’ve learned nothing at all.
According to the Sky News Australia report:-
Dan Tehan has welcomed news that Novak Djokovic wants to return to Melbourne for the Australian Open, but continues to push protecting the “integrity of our immigration system” after his government gave the tennis great a three-year ban.
Mr Tehan told Sky News on Monday morning that although he’d love to see Djokovic return, the “integrity” of Australia’s borders needed to be the utmost priority.
“As a tennis lover, I’d love to see him there… But the most important thing here is that we protect the integrity of our immigration system,” Mr Tehan said.
“The rules about coming into Australia have changed, you don’t have to be vaccinated anymore.
“If they decide that he can come, they’ve got to do so in making that decision in a way to protect the integrity of our immigration system.”
The shadow immigration minister also defended the former Liberal government’s decision to ban the tennis great from Australia.
“It was the right decision because there were requirements that needed to be met for him to enter the country,” he concluded.
FOOL
It was the right decision? Only a fool or one with culpability (or both) could attempt to make this claim.
What the hell is the “integrity of our immigration system”?
Novak’s exclusion from the 2022 Australian Open, was on political, not medical grounds. It was indefensible. Everyone knows this. Alex Hawke as much as acknowledged it at the time.
How could it have been on medical grounds, since the Morrison-driven vaccines have been proven to have been false advertising, at best, industrial manslaughter at worst?
The vaccines were and are unnecessary, experimental, dangerous and ineffective. Tehan surely knows this. Everyone else does, for heaven’s sake!
The only way back for the Liberal Party is to start being honest over COVID, the greatest and most immoral blunder in the Party’s history.
On the evidence of recent statements, we thought that Tehan might have been someone who might have been in the vanguard of the mea culpa class. Seemingly, not so. There is a limit to truth telling in Liberal politics.
No, the stakes of self-protection are high. The COVID State comprises crony capitalist deals with Big Pharma, deals with the corporate media, networks of protection, investment in “moving on”, and projected belief in the rightness of its evil actions.
The Liberal Party is, clearly, still invested in the scam.
So long as they know, the disaffected have long memories and retain considerable anger.
We were reminded only this week that the Liberals still do not get it.
When confronted with the diabolical destruction of Andrew Thorburn’s career in Victoria – because he is a Christian – Peter Dutton, the Leader of the Opposition, when attacking Daniel Andrews’ attack on Thorburn, felt it necessary to plead, “I don’t agree with his [Thorburn’s] views”.
Why in God’s name don’t you?
FREEDOM
Not good enough. Defending religious freedom is hollow. Liberals purporting to be conservatives have to defend the content of the position, not just the right to have a view.
Defend Thorburn’s beliefs, not just his right to have them. Then you might just have a shot at winning us back.
Until then, Dan Tehan and the rest should just shut up.
To make an impact on our cynicism, defend the substance of Djokovic’s position. Defend Thorburn’s position.
Otherwise, just expect us to vote for Parties who will.PC
Since John Howard’s and Tony Abbott’s periods in office the Liberal Party has deteriorated to the extent that they now offer little in terms of meaningful policies. The leaders at both Federal and State levels are incapable of taking a stance on the lies perpetrated by the climate activists and the nonsense that emanates from supporters of the Voice. They are either totally ignorant or just plain cowardly with regard to these and other Woke and left-wing issues. And I say that as a long-time member of the Liberal Party – although probably not for much longer unless they dramatically improve.
“Peter Dutton, the Leader of the Opposition […]”
LOL; Dutton wouldn’t even make the cut as a drover’s dog because he can neither identify a sheep nor hear a whistle – and he is supposedly the best man that the “liberals” can think of to take charge of the quasi-conservative rabble that used to be a disciplined and focused political party.
Spot on.