It seems Candace Owens’s Australian speaking tour isn’t going to happen — at least not anytime soon.
According to Politco, Australia’s High Court has upheld the government’s decision to bar Owens from visiting the country over incitement concerns. The legal battle began in 2024, when Owens initially applied for a visa; however, Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke rejected the application, after determining Owens failed to meet the country’s “character requirements” under the Migration Act, a law that aims to protect the community from foreigners who may “stir up or encourage dissension or strife on political matters.”
Burke said his decision was based on Owens’ “extremist and inflammatory comments towards Muslim, Black, Jewish and LGBTQIA+ communities which generate controversy and hatred.”
“In the current environment where the Australian community is experiencing heightened community tensions, as per the advice of Australia’s security apparatus,” he said, as reported by Politco. “I find that there is a risk that [Owens’] controversial views will amplify grievances among communities and lead to increased hostility and violent or radical action.”
Owens filed a 2024 appeal, saying Burke’s decision violated “the implied freedom of political communication.” The High Court disagreed, saying the implied freedom was not a “personal right" nor was "unlimited" or "absolute."
Burke called the court’s decision a "win for social cohesion.”
"Inciting discord might be the way some people make money,” he said in a statement to Reuters, “but it’s not welcome in Australia. Australia’s national interest is best served when Candace Owens is somewhere else.”
Owens' longtime friend Ye experienced a similar L earlier this year, when Burke’s office formally canceled his visa. Officials said the decision was based on the rapper’s string of anti-Semitic remarks and his “Heil Hitler” track.
“We have enough problems in this country already without deliberately importing bigotry,” Burke said about Ye’s visa cancellation.