Australian Labor government Immigration Minister Tony Burke announced late last month that US expert Candace Owens, a prominent far-right figure, had been refused a visa to travel to Australia , where she was due to speak in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth and Adelaide later this month.

Owens is still scheduled to speak in neighboring New Zealand on November 14, even though the opposition Labor Party is calling for him to be barred from entering that country.

Burke said on October 27: “From downplaying the impact of the Holocaust with comments about (Nazi doctor Josef) Mengele to claims that Muslims started slavery, Candace Owens has the ability to ‘inciting discord in almost every direction…Australia’s national interest is best served. when Candace Owens is elsewhere. Burke indicated in August that he would block Owens from entering the country, even before she applied for a visa.

Owens is known for her anti-Semitic statements. She was fired from the right Daily Feed in March, after saying that “a ring” of powerful Jews was operating in Hollywood and committing “horrible acts.” In September, she was suspended from YouTube for publishing an interview with her friend, rapper Kanye West, an admirer of Hitler, in which the latter declared that Jews controlled the media.

The decision to ban Owens from traveling to Australia, however, is completely undemocratic and should be opposed by anyone who defends free speech and political freedom. While Burke highlighted Owens’ embrace of far-right conspiracies, the minister’s statement sets another precedent by banning anyone the government deems to “have the capacity to incite discord” or that he described as a threat to “Australia’s national interest”.

Australia has some of the most draconian border policies in the world. Immigration authorities have broad powers to refuse entry to anyone deemed not to be of “good character,” including people who have not committed a crime.

In a video responding to Burke’s announcement, Owens claimed he was denied a visa because Zionists wanted to silence his criticism of the massacre of Palestinians in Gaza.