Australia’s High Court has upheld the government’s decision to bar American right-wing commentator Candace Owens from entering the country after she filed an appeal.
As previously reported by Face2Face Africa, Owens, 36, was booked to travel to Australia for five live shows in November last year. But her visa was canceled by the country’s Immigration Minister, Tony Burke, in October 2024, per News.com.au.
“From downplaying the impact of the holocaust with comments about Mengele through to claims that Muslims started slavery, Candace Owens has the capacity to incite discord in almost every direction,” Burke explained at the time.
The politician also said that “Australia’s national interest is best served when Candace Owens is somewhere else.”
Under Australia’s Migration Act, Burke can bar non-citizens from entering the country if they fail to meet character requirements, Reuters reported.
Owens had filed the appeal, arguing that the Immigration Minister’s power to bar non-citizens from entering Australia burdened the freedom of political communication. In the United States, free speech is explicitly stated as a constitutional right. That is, however, not the case in Australia.
“The implied freedom is not a ‘personal right’, is not unlimited and is not absolute,” High Court Judges Stephen Gageler, Michelle Gordon, and Robert Beech-Jones said in a joint judgment.
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Besides upholding Burke’s decision on Wednesday, the High Court also ordered Owens to cover the legal expenses of the government.
Burke, in a statement, also described the court’s ruling as 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 added.
Owens is known for stirring controversy with some of her comments. Besides being accused of propagating anti-Semitic conspiracy theories, the Anti-Defamation League also claims that the 36-year-old right-wing commentator has described Judaism as a “pedophile-centric religion that believes in demons … child sacrifice.”
The court highlighted that Burke barred Owens from entering Australia after analyzing her views and comments on topics such as “Holocaust denial, Islamophobia”, anti-racism, Black Lives Matter and antisemitism, women’s and LGBTQIA+ rights, and COVID-19 and anti-vaccination,” Reuters reported.
Burke ultimately determined that Owens’ made “extremist and inflammatory comments towards Muslim, Black, Jewish and LGBTQIA+ communities which generate controversy and hatred.” He subsequently determined that Owens did not pass the “character test” that would have enabled her to be granted a visa, adding that she’s going to “incite discord” when she enters the country.
Burke further stated that it would not be in the national interest if Owens were granted a visa to travel to Australia.
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