Conservative influencer Candace Owens has been denied entry into Australia after the country’s High Court on Wednesday sided with the government and ruled she could “incite discord” among communities.
While the Australian Constitution does not explicitly protect free speech, High Court Justices Stephen Gageler, Michelle Gordon and Robert Beech-Jones jointly ruled that implied freedom of political communication “is not a ‘personal right,’ is not unlimited and is not absolute.”
The court’s unanimous decision added that the country’s Migration Act — which covers temporary and permanent visas — protects the Australian community from visitors who would “stir up or encourage dissension or strife on political matters.”
“Ms Owens Farmer’s submissions should be emphatically rejected,” High Court Justice James Edelman said in a separate judgment. Farmer is Owens’ married name.
As part of the High Court’s ruling, Owens has been ordered to pay the government’s court costs.
A representative for Owens did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Owens originally applied for a visa to enter Australia in November 2024 as part of a speaking tour. But Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke rejected her application through the character requirements under the Migration Act. Owens then petitioned the country’s High Court, arguing that the law was unconstitutional because it infringed upon implied freedom of political communication.
Australia’s Department of Home Affairs explains that “good character” generally refers to “enduring moral qualities of a person.”
In his decision, Burke said Owens had made “extremist and inflammatory comments towards Muslim, Black, Jewish and LGBTQIA+ communities which generate controversy and hatred.”
“In the current environment where the Australian community is experiencing heightened community tensions, as per the advice of Australia’s security apparatus, I find that there is a risk that Ms Farmer’s controversial views will amplify grievances among communities and lead to increased hostility and violent or radical action,” Burke said at the time.
Neither Burke nor Australia’s Department of Home Affairs immediately responded to requests for comment.
This is the second prominent American to have their Australian visa revoked. In July, the rapper Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, had his visa revoked over concerns he promoted Nazi ideology in his song “Heil Hitler.”
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