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Tennis star Novak Djokovic may have played his last Australian Open match after he was ejected from the country following his visa cancellation, according to the home affairs minister.
The unvaccinated world No.1 flew out of the country on Sunday night, after the Federal Court ruled against Djokovic's bid to secure a visa.
His visa to enter the country for the Australian Open was cancelled by Alex Hawke on Friday, using discretionary powers as immigration minister.
Such a cancellation means Djokovic will be banned from reapplying for another visa for three years.
Home Affairs Minister Karen Andrews said Djokovic may have potentially played his last match at the Australian Open.
"It's a matter or him to consider ... but a three-year exclusion could apply," she told Sky News on Monday.
"(The exclusion) can be waived in compelling circumstances, but it's not a matter for today or tomorrow but some time in the future."
However, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said Djokovic may be able to return to the country under the right circumstances.
Mr Morrison said the rules were clear surrounding entry to Australia, which needed to be enforced.
"The border principle is important and we were going to hold that line and it was effective," he told 2GB.
"This is someone who sought to come to Australia and not comply with entry rules. We have always been consistent and strong and very effective in maintaining the integrity of borders."
The prime minister said Djokovic did not have a valid medical exemption to enter the country for the Australian Open, which starts on Monday.
Djokovic was using a previous COVID-19 infection as a reason for a medical exemption not to be vaccinated, and while it was approved by a Victorian government and Tennis Australia panel, it was not valid in the view of the federal government.
"Djokovic was wrong, it's as simple as that," Mr Morrison said.
Ms Andrews said if Djokovic wanted to return to Australia, he would need to demonstrate convincing reasons to re-enter during the three-year ban.
"Any applicant would need to go through the process, it doesn't matter if you're Novak Djokovic or anyone else ... it's not a straight forward process," she said.
"The saga could have been avoided if Novak Djokovic was vaccinated."
Following the court's decision, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said the situation had been a farce, and accused Australia of a witch hunt against Djokovic.
Labor home affairs spokeswoman Kristina Keneally said while the opposition welcomed the decision to deport Djokovic, the government had "bungled" the situation.
"Anyone could have seen this crisis coming. The Australian Open was not a secret event," she told ABC TV.
"Novak Djokovic, a known anti-vax proponent declared he wanted to come to Australia and yet the Morrison government did nothing.
"This has been a monumental bungle at our borders by the Morrison government. They want to run around and pat themselves on the back about it. They deserve a kick up the backside."
Djokovic has been replaced in the draw by Italian Salvatore Caruso.
The Australian Open will begin on Monday morning.
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The consumer watchdog is "significantly concerned" about the skyrocketing prices of COVID-19 rapid antigen tests.
The ACCC said at the "extreme end" it had received reports of RATs costing up to $500 for two tests through online marketplaces, and more than $70 per test through convenience stores, service stations and independent supermarkets.
Despite wholesale RAT costs being up to $11.45 a test, the ACCC said prices for the at-home kits were often retailing between $20-30 per test, and were priced much higher through smaller outlets.
ACCC Chair Rod Sims described some of the recent retail mark-ups as "clearly outrageous".
"There are several businesses that have repeatedly come to our notice thanks to the information provided by the public. We are asking those businesses to urgently explain the prices they are charging," Mr Sims said in a statement on Monday.
He said the "concerning practices" had come to light from the ACCC's analysis of more than 1800 reports from the public since Christmas.
The agency is receiving close to 150 reports per day from concerned members of the public about RAT pricing, he added.
Chemists are the traders most commonly reported, followed by convenience stores, tobacconists, supermarkets and petrol stations.
"We are looking in particular at reports of single tests being sold at around $30 or above from certain stores. For example, such sales have occurred from a number of King of the Pack and Metro Petroleum stores," Mr Sims said.
"The complaints are limited to a small number of individual stores in these chains and the majority of stores in those chains have not been the subject of complaints to us.
"We are writing to those traders to validate the reports and asking them to explain their prices so we can work out what's going on."
Other concerns are retailers failing to provide receipts, unscrupulous selling on online marketplaces, and reselling and repackaging of the at-home tests.
Mr Sims said the ACCC had contacted more than 40 test suppliers, major retailers and pharmacy chains across the country reminding them they need to back up claims to consumers about reasons for higher prices.
"We will continue our investigations and analysis of information from consumers, retailers and suppliers, and will provide further updates in coming weeks," Mr Sims said.
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NSW has reported 29,504 new COVID-19 cases along with a further 17 virus-related deaths.
Hospital numbers continue to rise, with the state's hospitals now caring for 2776 COVID-19 patients - 126 more than the day before.
Some 203 people are in intensive care with COVID-19, an increase of 12.
At the depths of the Delta outbreak last September, there were 244 COVID-infected people in ICUs.
Of the newly reported cases on Monday, 17,646 were traditional PCR tests and 11,858 were the results of at-home rapid tests reported to the government.
More than 1000 of the rapid test results were more than a week old, but newly reported through ServiceNSW.
The total number of positive results reported was 5156 fewer than the day before.
NSW Police will on Wednesday officially begin enforcing a $1000 fine for people who fail to report rapid results, although it remains to be seen how they will do so in practice.
Some 93.8 per cent of all eligible adults in NSW are now double dosed, while 26.1 per cent have also received a booster jab. Of children aged 5-11, 13.1 per cent are now single vaccinated.
NSW Chief Health Officer Kerry Chant is expected to address the media on Monday morning, as Premier Dominic Perrottet announces new support for major events affected by the Omicron outbreak.
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Prime Minister Scott Morrison has vowed to give Tonga every possible support after a devastating tsunami hit the Pacific island nation.
Australia will send a P-8 plane to Tonga on Monday to help assess damage in the country.
The tsunami, caused by an underwater volcano eruption on Saturday, has caused severe damage to communications in Tonga, making it difficult to determine how critical infrastructure has fared.
Mr Morrison said the communication disruption and ash clouds made the situation challenging.
"We're working to get as much support to Tonga as we possibly can," he told 2GB on Monday.
"They're part of our Pacific family, and ... like all of those island nations, we're always there to support and we certainly will be on this occasion.
All Australians and other officials in Tonga have been accounted for.
Defence forces and foreign affairs officials will be working with other countries in the region to provide support.
Mr Morrison has also spoken with his New Zealand counterpart Jacinda Ardern.
The P-8 plane is set to reach Tonga by 9am on Monday, and is part of a coordinated response by Australia and New Zealand.
Pacific Minister Zed Seselja said while there were reports of significant property damage in Tonga, there have been no reports of mass casualties.
"There is still very limited, if any, information coming from the outer islands, and so that will be the focus in coming hours," Senator Seselja told ABC TV.
"We hope that in the next several hours, we'll have a much better assessment of the damage in those outer islands where communications continue to be cut off."
Senator Seselja said other support measures were being prepared and ready to go, including a C-130 plane with humanitarian supplies.
HMAS Adelaide, currently in Sydney, is being deployed to Brisbane where it will be loaded with supplies for Tonga.
"We've been chatting to our US, New Zealand and French partners and others about how we can get a coordinated response going," Senator Seselja said.
"There will be further discussions with the Tongan government to determine how we can support the people of Tonga at this very difficult time, but we stand by to do much more."
A Department of Foreign Affairs spokesman said there were early reports of substantial ash coverage through the Tongan capital of Nuku'alofa along with coastal inundation and damage to infrastructure.
A tsunami warning was issued for parts of Australia's east coast, but was cancelled on Sunday night.
However, the Bureau of Meteorology has warned of unusual sea level changes along the Queensland, Victorian and Tasmanian coasts.
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