US commentator Candace Owens’ visa ban is upheld by Australia’s top court
The High Court of Australia has maintained the government’s decision to deny US broadcaster Candace Owens a visa due to concerns that she may stir up unrest.
Candace Owens, a far-right American broadcaster, lost her legal attempt to enter Australia when the High Court supported the government’s decision to deny her a visa on the grounds that she might “incite discord” within the community.
Owens, a well-known conservative influencer who has a reputation for holding divisive opinions on gender, race, and religion, had attempted to go on a speaking tour to Australia in November 2024. Given her history of Holocaust denial, Islamophobic statements, and other inflammatory rhetoric, Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke denied her visa application last October.
If a non-citizen fails the character test or is a danger to public order, the minister may refuse them entrance under Australia’s Migration Act. Owens argued in court that the ruling violated the implied constitutional right to free speech in politics.
But the High Court ruled in favor of the government and mandated that Owens pay legal fees. Justices Stephen Gageler, Michelle Gordon, and Robert Beech-Jones jointly decided that although the Migration Act hindered political communication, it had a valid and appropriate function: safeguarding the Australian public from those who might “stir up or encourage dissension or strife on political matters.”
The courts declared that the implied freedom was not an absolute, unrestricted, or personal right.
Minister Burke hailed the decision as “a win for social cohesion.”
He stated that while some people may earn money by inciting division, it is not acceptable in Australia. “It is best for Australia’s national interest when Candace Owens is elsewhere.”
When evaluating Owens’ visa application, Burke pointed to her record of making “extremist and inflammatory remarks” against Black, Muslim, Jewish, and LGBTQIA+ populations. It would not serve the interests of the nation, he decided, to allow her.
According to a different ruling by Justice James Edelman, Owens’ arguments “should be emphatically rejected.”
Requests for comment were not answered by Owens’ legal team.
The ruling comes after Australia canceled US rapper Ye’s (formerly Kanye West) visa in July for releasing a song endorsing Nazi ideology.
