Candace Owens has been officially banned from Australia. On Wednesday, the country’s highest court upheld the government’s decision to deny her a visa, citing fears she could “incite discord” by spreading so-called “dangerous conspiracy theories” about the political elite.
Owens applied for a visa to undertake a speaking tour in November 2024, however senior members of the government intervened to block her entry to the country, claiming that Owens could “stir up or encourage dissension or strife on political matters” in Australia.
Her application was rejected in October 2024 by Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke, citing her record of questioning Israeli claims and making offensive comments. The Home Affairs Minister has powers to deny non-citizens entry based on “character requirements” under the Migration Act.
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Owens appealed to the High Court in Australia on the grounds that the power burdened the freedom of political communication, an implied right. Unlike the US, Australia does not have a constitutional right to free speech.
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Reuters report: The High Court on Wednesday unanimously sided with Burke and ordered Owens to pay the government’s legal costs.
The court said the Migration Act provisions imposed a burden on political communication but served a legitimate and justifiable purpose in protecting the Australian community from visitors who would “stir up or encourage dissension or strife on political matters”.
“The implied freedom is not a ‘personal right’, is not unlimited and is not absolute,” said High Court Judges Stephen Gageler, Michelle Gordon and Robert Beech-Jones in a joint judgment.
Burke said the decision was a “win for social cohesion”.
“Inciting discord might be the way some people make money but it’s not welcome in Australia. Australia’s national interest is best served when Candace Owens is somewhere else,” he said in a statement.
The judges noted Burke denied Owens’ visa after examining her views and comments on areas including “Holocaust denial, Islamophobia, anti-racism, Black Lives Matter and antisemitism, women’s and LGBTQIA+ rights, and COVID-19 and anti-vaccination”.
Burke found her views to be “extremist and inflammatory comments towards Muslim, Black, Jewish and LGBTQIA+ communities which generate controversy and hatred”, concluding that meant she failed the “character test” required for a visa because of the risk she would “incite discord” in the community
He also concluded that allowing her into the country would not be in the national interest.
“Ms Owens Farmer’s submissions should be emphatically rejected,” said High Court Judge James Edelman in a separate judgment.
Owens’ lawyers did not respond to a request for comment.
In July, Australia also cancelled the visa of Kanye West over concerns he promoted Nazi ideologies in his song “Heil Hitler” released in May.
