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Access to justice slammed as ‘Djoke’ in wake of visa saga
Regardless of where Australians stand on the Novak Djokovic visa issue, the remarkable speed in which his matter was brought before a full bench of the Federal Court should be concerning to everyone, says one principal.
Naomi Neilson
In a matter of weeks, world men’s number one tennis player Novak Djokovic arrived in Australia, was placed in immigration detention, appeared before the Federal Court a handful of times and then flew back home. As those outside the “realm of the rich and powerful” wait much longer, the profession calls for a judicial re-evaluation.
“How can [Mr] Djokovic get a hearing before the full bench of the Federal Court on a Sunday in Melbourne with 24 hours’ notice when an Indigenous woman in the Northern Territory is told that she cannot get a hearing for the return of her children, taken by a violent alcoholic partner, in reach of existing court orders?” he said.
The Australian Border Force has also come under fire when protesters learnt that Mr Djokovic was being held in the Park Hotel alongside 32 refugees who had sought asylum in Australia but had been indefinitely detained, with some up to nine years. Across the world, Australia’s refugee policy is being condemned all over again.
Mr Creevey also questioned how the visa saga could play out before the courts in the city of Melbourne, but timely resolution in regional Queensland was almost impossible. Within Toowoomba, he said there are only two judges allocated to Supreme Court sittings for 2022, with their time consumed by criminal matters.
“How come we cannot get a Supreme Court judge to go to Roma, Charleville and other regional centres to hear an urgent application for an injunction? How come, when asking for matters to be set for hearing in the Supreme Court, parties are ordered to mediation, which is just as expensive, on the pretext of not wasting the court’s valuable time when the likes of Clive Palmer can be accommodated?
“The courts are now solely the realm of the rich and powerful,” Mr Creevey said.
“It must change.”
Naomi Neilson
Naomi Neilson is a senior journalist with a focus on court reporting for Lawyers Weekly.
You can email Naomi at:
