That has been and still is my thinking......
So the options are (a) try to deny visa again (per reasons in own laws) and deport him (b) let him stay despite rules for anyone else coming in and despite restrictions for all Australians for 1-2 years... everything they've gone through.
If I was Australian and they choose b, I'd be fecking apoplectic.
If they do that, they will lose a lot of credibility at state and federal level. It would be double standards but on a whole new level. (I know someone who is eyeing his return to Austraila in March this year, because he wanted to avoid the expensive quarantine procedures despite being fully vaccinated.)