MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Australia's Supreme Court on Wednesday rejected a bid by U.S. conservative commentator Candace Owens to overturn an Australian government decision barring her from visiting the country.
Three High Court judges unanimously rejected Owens' challenge to Home Secretary Tony Burke's decision last year to refuse her a visa on grounds of her character.
Owens had planned to begin a tour of Australia last November and also visit neighboring New Zealand.
Burke used his powers under the Migration Act last October to refuse her a visa because she failed a so-called “character test”, court papers say.
Burke found there was a risk Owens would “cause discord within the Australian community” and that refusing her visa was in the national interest.
Burke found that as a political commentator, writer, and activist, Owens was “known for her controversial and conspiratorial views.”
She made “extremist and inflammatory comments against the Muslim, Black, Jewish and LGBTQ+ communities that have created division and hatred,” Burke said in court documents.
Owens' lawyers argued the Migrants Act was unconstitutional because it infringed on Australia's implied freedom of political communication.
Australia has no equivalent to the US First Amendment, which enshrines the right to free speech. But because Australia is a democracy, the High Court ruled that the constitution implied freedom of speech limited to government and political matters.
Owens' lawyers argued that if the Migration Act is constitutional, then Burke misinterpreted his powers under the act by denying her a visa.
The judges rejected both arguments and ordered Owens to pay the government's legal costs.
Owens' spokeswoman said Wednesday that Owens would comment on the ruling later on social media.
Burke told the court that while Owens already had the ability to incite discord among her 18 million social media followers, her presence in Australia would increase that potential.
He noted that when Australia's terrorism threat level was raised from “possible” to “probable” last year, the nation's domestic intelligence agency reported a “rise in extremism”.
Australia has long used broad discretion in character tests to deny temporary visas to foreigners.
Burke stripped Ye, the American rapper formerly known as Kanye West, of his Australian visa after he released his single “Heil Hitler” in May this year.
Yeh spent many years traveling to Australia, where his wife of three years, Bianca Censori, was born.
Burke's decision to ban Owens prompted neighboring New Zealand to deny her a visa in November on the grounds that she had been refused a visa by Australia.
But in December, a New Zealand immigration official overturned the refusal, citing “the importance of freedom of speech.”
A spokeswoman for Owens had no information Wednesday about plans to visit New Zealand.
