"The home affairs minister, Tony Burke, in October 2024 refused Owens' visa application ahead of a planned national speaking tour, arguing she had the capacity to incite discord. Burke said at the time the US conservative influencer and podcast host, who has advanced conspiracy theories and antisemitic rhetoric including allegedly minimising Nazi medical experiments in concentration camps did not pass the character test to receive a visa under the Migration Act."
"Owens, in court, sought a declaration that a section of the act was invalid or, alternatively, that the minister had misconstrued the act when refusing to grant her a visa. Owens' lawyers argued the character test was more likely to exclude non-mainstream political views that sparked division. Perry Herzfeld SC contended the threshold of inciting discord to reject a visa was so broad it could capture disagreements and robust debates and was very much in the eye of the beholder."
In October 2024 the home affairs minister refused Candace Owens a visa ahead of a planned national speaking tour, finding she had the capacity to incite discord. The minister cited Owens' promotion of conspiracy theories and antisemitic rhetoric, including allegedly minimising Nazi medical experiments, and held she failed the character test under the Migration Act. Owens sought a declaration that a provision was invalid or that the minister had misconstrued the act. Her lawyers argued the character test risked excluding non‑mainstream political views and dampening robust debate. The High Court unanimously held the minister did not misconstrue the act and that the decision did not infringe the implied constitutional freedom of political communication.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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