Far-right commentator Candace Owens banned from entering Australia

The Australian Labor government’s Immigration Minister Tony Burke announced late last month that US pundit Candace Owens, a prominent far-right figure, had been denied a visa to travel to Australia, where she was due to give speeches in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and other countries. Perth and Adelaide later this month.

Candace Owens speaks at the 2021 Young Women Leadership Summit presented by Turning Point USA (Photo by Gage Skidmore/ CC BY-SA 2.0)

Owens is still due to perform in neighboring New Zealand on November 14, although the opposition Labor Party is calling for her to be banned from the country.

Burke said on October 27: “From downplaying the impact of the Holocaust with comments about (Nazi doctor Josef) Mengele to claiming Muslims started slavery, Candace Owens has the ability to foment discord in virtually every direction… Australia’s national interests are best served.” when Candace Owens is somewhere else.” In August, Burke made it clear he would not allow Owens into the country even before she applied for a visa.

Owens is known for her anti-Semitic remarks. She was fired from the right Daily Wire in March after she claimed there was a “ring” of powerful Jewish people operating in Hollywood and committing “horrific acts.” In September, she was suspended from YouTube for publishing an interview with her friend, Hitler-fan rapper Kanye West, in which the latter said that “the Jewish people control the media.”

However, the decision to ban Owens from Australia is completely anti-democratic and should be opposed by all who defend free speech and political freedom. While Burke highlighted Owens’ support for far-right conspiracies, the minister’s statement sets another precedent for banning anyone the government believes “has the ability to incite discord” or whom it says is a threat to “Australia’s national interests”.

Australia has one of the most draconian border policies in the world. Immigration authorities have broad powers to refuse entry to anyone deemed to be of “bad character,” including people who have committed no crimes.

In a video response to Burke’s statement, Owens said her visa was denied because Zionists wanted to silence her criticism of the massacre of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.

Zionist organizations in Australia have been publicly calling for Owens to be banned for months. They now demand that similar action be taken against all who oppose Israel’s genocide against the Palestinian people.

In a statement that combined anti-Semitism with opposition to the crimes of the Israeli state, chief executive of the Australia/Israel and Jewish Council (AIJAC) Colin Rubenstein told the media: “We hope that the same principled policy will be applied to other extremist propagandists seeking to visit Australia , for example, two pro-Hamas speakers who are apparently due to come in January, Shaun King and Mansour Shuman.”

King is an activist associated with Black Lives Matter who has been involved in pro-Palestinian events, and Schuman is a Palestinian Canadian journalist and activist who raises funds for charities helping displaced and starving people in the Gaza Strip.

The Australian Labor Government supports US-led imperialist intervention in the Middle East and Yemen and provides diplomatic and military intelligence support for Israel’s bombing of Gaza and Lebanon. Like the Biden administration in the US, it has launched an unprecedented witch hunt against pro-Palestinian protesters, which includes attacks on students on university campuses. Journalists and academics have also been fired for criticizing Israel.

Burke has repeatedly threatened to deport non-residents for protesting atrocities committed by the Israeli military. Last month it revoked the visa of Khaled Beydoun, a visiting professor of law at Arizona State University, for speaking at the Stand 4 Palestine event on October 7 at Lakemba Mosque in Sydney.

Beydoun stated that the anniversary of the Hamas operation against Israel was “not exactly a day of mourning, today is also a day that marks significant celebration, significant progress and, in some respects, significant privilege.” … The level of global literacy about what’s going on in (Palestine) has grown exponentially.”

The event was condemned by Burke, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and New South Wales Premier Chris Minns. The corporate media launched a hysterical campaign against Beydoun, falsely accusing him of “celebrating” the Hamas attack and supporting “terrorism.”

Meanwhile, Owens’ ban played directly into the hands of the far right, including genuine anti-Semites, by giving her international fame.

It remains unclear whether Owens will perform in New Zealand, where she has received significant support from right-wing media company The Platform. Its founder, Sean Plunkett, an ardent supporter of the Zionist regime in Israel and its murderous actions in Gaza, was scheduled to introduce Owens at her event in Auckland.

The main Zionist organization, the Jewish Council of New Zealand, condemned Owens’ statements but did not oppose her visit.

The opposition Labor Party is calling on the right-wing National Party-led coalition government to follow Australia’s lead and deny Owens a visa. In a statement on October 29, Young Labor said Owens’ “divisive and hate-filled rhetoric threatens New Zealand’s values of inclusion and compassion.” It noted that Owens was mentioned favorably in the manifesto of Christchurch terrorist Brenton Tarrant, who killed 51 Muslim worshipers in March 2019.

There is nothing progressive about New Zealand Labour’s position. Like his Australian counterpart, he supports US imperialist operations in the Middle East, as well as its war against Russia and US preparations for war against China. When the Labor Party was still in power last year, it supported Israel’s genocide against the Gaza Strip and denigrated pro-Palestinian protesters.

Young Labour’s statement, echoing Burke, demands that New Zealand Immigration Minister Erica Stanford impose tougher entry restrictions not only on Owens but also on other “individuals who incite division and disrupt social harmony”.

This formula can and will be applied to anti-war activists and socialists who oppose the capitalist system and seek to mobilize the working class against imperialist war and genocide. The real target of these immigration bans, like all attacks on free movement and free speech, are not far-right people like Owens, but the working class and its socialist leadership.