Anti-trans campaigner Kellie-Jay Keen-Minshull given green light to enter New Zealand
A controversial anti-transgender campaigner will be allowed to continue her speaking tour after the Nazi salute was performed at her Melbourne rally.
Anti-transgender campaigner Kellie-Jay Keen-Minshull has been given the green light to continue her speaking tour after neo-Nazis attended one of her events in Australia.
New Zealand immigration officials who reviewed the British activist’s travel status after her controversial rally in Melbourne on Saturday have decided she is not a threat to public safety and cleared her to enter the country.
Their decision means the biological sex campaigner, who also goes by Posie Parker, will be allowed to stage rallies in Auckland and Wellington this weekend on the next leg of her international Let Women Speak tour.
Immigration NZ general manager Richard Owen said on Wednesday the department had finished reviewing the Briton’s case and determined she didn’t meet the “high threshold” to be denied a visa under the country’s Immigration Act.
“After reviewing all publicly known information about Ms Keen-Minshull and seeking advice from other agencies. we have concluded that there is no reason to believe that she is, or is likely to be, a threat or risk to the public order or public interest,” Mr Owen said.
“We note there is nothing specified in the Immigration Act or immigration instructions which could be used to prevent a person travelling to New Zealand on a temporary basis based on their previous expression of opinion and ideas.”
Mr Owen said he appreciated that some people wouldn’t agree with the decision.
“But it is critical that INZ applies the law in all such cases, regardless of the views the individual holds,” he said.
Ms Keen-Minshull will be allowed to use her visa waiver status as a British citizen and travel to New Zealand with the New Zealand Electronic Travel Authority she had already been granted.
Their review was triggered by alarm over her rally outside Victorian state parliament in Melbourne on Saturday that descended into violence and was attended by about 30 men dressed in black who repeatedly performed the Nazi salute before being led away by police.
Anti-trans protesters clashed with pro-LGBTQI+ rights campaigners who staged counter-protests at each of Ms Keen-Minshull’s Australian rallies, which were also held in Perth and Hobart.
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