Lawmakers differ on Aussie Open vaccinations

BRISBANE, Australia — The back-andforth debate over unvaccinated tennis

players being allowed to contest the Australian Open in January

heightened Wednesday with the prime minister and a state political leader trading shots on points of difference.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison indicated in television interviews that unvaccinated tennis players would be allowed to get exemptions to enter the country provided they undergo two weeks in hotel quarantine.

Victoria state’s Premier Daniel Andrews hit back, telling reporters in Melbourne he wouldn’t be applying

for exemptions for unvaccinated players.

Victoria hosts the Australian Open at Melbourne Park and has a mandatory vaccination policy for athletes competing in domestic leagues. The Andrews government

has imposed months of lockdowns on the people of Victoria and is

only starting to re-open after the public reached

high targets for the COVID-19 vaccine.

Morrison’s move Wednesday to clarify

his federal government’s stance on the international border came a week after Immigration Minister Alex Hawke suggested

there’d be a no-jab, novisa policy for players at the Jan. 17-30 Grand Slam event.

Morrison said there are exemptions to the long-term international

border protection rules for some who qualify under skilled worker or

economic benefit criteria.

“If there is a special exemption that is warranted for an economic reason, well, that can

happen,” he told Australia’s Nine Network. “But you’ve got to follow the health rules in

that state — and two weeks’ quarantine for

unvaccinated people, well, that’s sensible.”