Djokovic Ban - Judge Reasoning (General)

by dulan drift, Thursday, January 20, 2022, 18:51 (166 days ago) @ dulan drift

In a unanimous decision, Chief Justice James Allsop, Justice Anthony Besanko and Justice David O'Callaghan backed the Morrison Government's Thought Police ruling:

An iconic world tennis star may influence people of all ages, young or old, but perhaps especially the young and the impressionable, to emulate him.

He's in good company - corrupting the youth was the same charge the state got Socrates on.

This is not fanciful; it does not need evidence. It is the recognition of human behaviour from a modest familiarity with human experience.

What needs evidence is how being a tennis star who is unvaccinated, is guilty of anything. To be clear, he wasn't breaking any laws by not being vaccinated - he wasn't an anti-vax agitator - he was issued a visa by the Australian government before he came. He had an exemption because of a prior infection. He is safer than all double vaccinated in terms of spreading Covid.

Even if Mr Djokovic did not win the Australian Open, the capacity of his presence in Australia playing tennis to encourage those who would emulate or wish to be like him is a rational foundation for the view that he might foster anti-vaccination sentiment.

might foster sentiment - that's as Thought Police as you can get

The central proposition of Mr Djokovic's argument was that the Minister lacked any evidence and cited none that his presence may 'foster anti-vaccination sentiment.

Good point!

However, it was open to infer that it was perceived by the public that Mr Djokovic was not in favour of vaccinations.

So it's not about what Djokovic does or says - it's about inferring what the public might perceive about what he thinks. That's irrational.

It was not irrational for the Minister to be concerned that the asserted support of some anti-vaccination groups for Mr Djokovic's apparent position on vaccination may encourage rallies and protests that may lead to heightened community transmission.

The court added the minister was not obliged to provide a statement of reasons.

These are supposed to wise people. That's how broken human civilization has become.