Australia's highest court on Wednesday rejected US conservative commentator Candace Owens' bid to overturn an Australian government decision barring her from visiting the country. Three High Court judges unanimously rejected Owens' challenge to Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke's decision last year to refuse her a visa on character grounds, per the AP. Owens had planned to begin a speaking tour in Australia last November and also visit neighboring New Zealand. Burke used his powers under the Migration Act in October last year to refuse her a visa because she failed the so-called "character test," court documents said.
Burke found there was a risk Owens would "incite discord in the Australian community" and that refusing her a visa was in the national interest. Burke found that as a political commentator, author, and activist, Owens was "known for her controversial and conspiratorial views." She had made "extremist and inflammatory comments towards Muslim, Black, Jewish and LGBTQIA+ communities which generate controversy and hatred," Burke said in court documents.
Owens' lawyers had argued the Migrant Act was unconstitutional because it infringed upon Australia's implied freedom of political communications. Australia doesn't have an equivalent of the US First Amendment right to free speech. But because Australia is a democracy, the High Court decided that the constitution implies free speech limited to governmental and political matters. Owens' lawyers had argued that if the Migration Act was constitutional, then Burke had misconstrued his powers under that law in refusing her a visa.
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The judges rejected both arguments and ordered Owens to pay the government's court costs. Owens' spokeswoman said on Wednesday that Owens would comment on the court decision later on social media. Burke had told the court that while Owens already had an ability to incite discord through her 18 million followers across social media platforms, her presence in Australia would amplify that potential. Burke's decision to ban Owens prompted neighboring New Zealand to refuse her a visa in November on the grounds that she had been rejected by Australia. But a New Zealand immigration official overturned that refusal in December, citing "the importance of free speech."
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