Australia could be about to face another Djokovic-esk debacle, with the Prime Minister warning Kanye West that he will not be allowed to enter Australia unless he has been fully vaccinated.
The hip-hop artist’s plans to tour Australia in March have sparked questions around his vaccination status following the government’s decision to cancel tennis star Novak Djokovic’s visa earlier this month.
The tour has already faced issues after the AFL refused to move its March 18 match between the Saints and the Magpies at Melbourne’s Marvel Stadium so West could perform at the venue on March 21, according to Fox Sports.
Rolling Stone reported that the artist, who has legally changed his name to Ye, has had at least one shot of a COVID-19 vaccine but it is not known if he has had the second shot which is required in order to be fully vaccinated.
In July 2021, West told Forbes he believed the jab was “the mark of the beast”.
“It’s so many of our children that are being vaccinated and paralyzed. . . . So when they say the way we’re going to fix Covid is with a vaccine, I’m extremely cautious…” he said.
“They want to put chips inside of us, they want to do all kinds of things, to make it where we can’t cross the gates of heaven.”
During a press conference on Saturday, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said West would have to be fully vaccinated in order to enter Australia.
“The rules are you’ve got to be fully vaccinated. They’re the rules,” Morrison said.
“They apply to everybody, as people have seen most recently… Follow the rules, you can come. You don’t follow the rules, you can’t.”
Earlier that day, the Minister for Tourism and Trade, Dan Tehan, told the media the decision of whether West will be allowed into Australia would be made by the Minister for Immigration, Alex Hawke.
“He will look at that visa application like he does all other visa applications,” Tehan said.
“…I can assure everyone and all Australians that it will be looked at in a diligent manner and, like all visa applications, the applicant would have to adhere to Australian rules and protocols for that visa to be approved.”
This comes just weeks after the government sent Djokovic home after the federal court upheld its decision to cancel the Serbian tennis player’s visa because his vaccination status didn’t comply with Australia’s COVID-19 entry rules.
Djokovic was attempting to visit Australia to compete in the Australian Open but was detained by immigration upon his arrival on 6 January.
Featured image: Facebook/scottmorrisonmp
