US far-right commentator Candace Owens has lost her appeal in the high court over a decision to deny her entry visa to Australia.
In a decision handed down on Wednesday, the court backed Minister for Home Affairs Tony Burke’s decision to reject her visa application.
The case comes after Owens was booked to visit Australia in November 2024 for a speaking tour. Burke took action to block her visa at the time, citing her views may “incite discord” in the community.
Owens appealed Burke’s decision, with her legal team arguing rejecting her visa on these grounds violateed implied freedom of political communication.
At the time, Burke said allowing Owens into the country would go against Australia’s national interests because of her “controversial and conspiratorial views”. He reasonably suspected she did not pass the “character test”.
“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 said last year.
“Australia’s national interest is best served when Candace Owens is somewhere else.”
In an unanimous decision, the high court upheld Burke’s reasoning and ruled that rejecting her visa did not infringe on the implied freedom of political communication.
“Today, the High Court unanimously held that s 501(6)(d)(iv) of the Migration Act 1958 (Cth) does not infringe the implied freedom of political communication under the Constitution and that the decision of the first defendant, the Minister for Home Affairs (“the Minister”), to refuse the
plaintiff a visa was not invalid,” the court said in a summary of its findings.
Owens was ordered to pay the Commonwealth’s legal costs.
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