Australia High Court upholds Candace Owens Visitor Visa Refusal

Australia's High Court on Wednesday unanimously upheld Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke's 2024 decision to refuse U.S. commentator Candace Owens a visitor visa, ruling the minister validly found that admitting her posed a risk of inciting discord in the Australian community. The court rejected Owens's challenge that the refusal infringed the constitutionally implied freedom of political communication and ordered her to pay the Commonwealth's legal costs.

Burke denied the visa in October 2024 under the Migration Act's character test, concluding that Owens's public comments on Muslim, Black, Jewish and LGBTQIA communities, as well as remarks that court documents said downplayed the Holocaust, could amplify grievances and lead to increased hostility or violent action. The minister told the court he considered those findings to be in the national interest. "Inciting discord might be the way some people make money, but it is not welcome in Australia," Burke said after the ruling.

Owens, who sought to undertake a commercial speaking tour in Australia and had planned related visits to New Zealand, argued in the High Court that the visa refusal unlawfully limited political...