"Far-right American influencer Candace Owens has lost a legal bid to be allowed to enter Australia after a court ruled with the government that granting her a visitor visa could incite discord in the Australian community. The High Court of Australia said in its ruling on Wednesday that the government's decision to refuse Owens a visa in 2024 was not invalid and ordered her to pay the government's legal costs in the case."
"The court unanimously ruled that the article in Australia's Migration Act used by the government against Owens applies where, in the event that the person were allowed to enter or to remain in Australia, there is a risk that the person would stir up or encourage dissension or strife in the Australian community, or a segment of that community."
"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, the minister said last year, according to Australia's Herald Sun news outlet, referring to Josef Mengele, the Nazi physician who conducted experiments on Jewish prisoners at Auschwitz."
The High Court of Australia ruled that the government's 2024 refusal to grant Candace Owens a visitor visa was valid and ordered her to pay the government's legal costs. The court unanimously found that the Migration Act provision applied where a person allowed to enter could stir up or encourage dissension or strife in the Australian community or a segment of it. Owens applied for a visa to undertake a commercial speaking tour in November 2024 after building a large online following as a right‑wing podcast host and political pundit. Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke rejected the application in October 2024 on a character test basis, citing Owens's public comments downplaying the Holocaust and making Islamophobic remarks. Burke said those statements had the capacity to incite discord and potentially lead to increased hostility or violent action.
Read at www.aljazeera.com
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