Tony Burke blocks visa for far right US influencer Candace Owens

A far right American pundit who suggested Israel might have been behind the assassination of JFK has just had her visa to Australia cancelled.

Far right American commentator Candace Owens has been blocked from entering Australia.

Immigration Minister Tony Burke cancelled her visa this weekend, stating her proposed visit to Australia for a set of five live shows across November had to capacity to “incite discord in almost every direction”.

“From downplaying the impact of the holocaust with comments about Mengele through to claims that Muslims started slavery, Candace Owens has the capacity to incite discord in almost every direction,” Mr Burke said.

“Australia’s national interest is best served when Candace Owens is somewhere else.”

Across podcasts, interviews and social media posts, Ms Owens has spread wild and bizarre anti-Semitic conspiracy theories, including suggesting Israel was behind the assassination of former US President John F Kennedy.

She has also called Judaism a “pedophile-centric religion that believes in demons … child sacrifice,” according to the Anti-Defamation League.

The influencer, who split from mainstream US conservative commentator Ben Shapiro and his news outlet The Daily Wire in March this year, counts 5.8 million followers on Twitter and some 5 million on Instagram.

Candace Owens was booked to tour Australia across November. Picture: Instagram

The Candace Owens Live tour was set to kick off in Melbourne on November 17, with tickets selling at $95 for reserved seating and up to $1500 for a pre-show VIP dinner with Owens herself.

“Join us for an electrifying evening with Candace Owens, the outspoken and fearless American conservative social commentator, author, activist, and YouTube sensation,” the promoters state on the tour website.

“Known for her controversial takes and unwavering stance, Candace is set to light up stages across Australia and New Zealand with her bold and unfiltered perspectives.”

Mr Burke flagged concerns about her arrival on Australian shores for weeks.

“Tickets to these events are selling for $100. I hope she has a good refunds policy,” Mr Burke said in August.

“There hasn’t been an application for a visa but if there is the brief will come to me personally.

“My opposition to anti-Semitism and Islamophobia has always been on the record.

Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke knocked back Ms Owens’ visa. Picture: NewsWire / Martin Ollman

“I have clear legal powers to knock back a visa to anyone who would incite discord.”

Executive Council of Australian Jewry co-chief executive Peter Wertheim called on Mr Burke to cancel Ms Owens’ visa, arguing she failed the character test under the Migration Act.

“At a time of unprecedented strains on the cohesiveness of Australian society, which is very largely the outcome of ignorant and malicious comment on social media, the last thing we need to be importing into our country is yet another so-called celebrity who has made racist and bigoted comments about Jews and other vulnerable groups,” he said.

Coalition immigration spokesman Dan Tehan also backed blocking Owens from Australia.

“There is no place in Australia for people who spread hateful messages and undermine social cohesion,” he said.

In a statement on Sunday evening, Anti-Defamation Commission chairman Dr Dvir Abramovich cheered the visa cancellation.

“Today, we welcome the decision of the Australian government to revoke the visa of Candace Owens, a known peddler of dangerous rhetoric against Jews and other groups and unapologetic Holocaust denial,” he said.

Avner's Bakery in Sydney's Surry Hills was defaced with anti-Semitic graffiti in mid October. Picture: Supplied

“This is a victory for truth, for decency, and for the millions of Jewish souls and millions of others whose memory she so shamelessly desecrated.

“The ADC, along with Annetta Able, the oldest surviving victim of Mengel, and her daughter Daphne, have fought tirelessly to prevent Owens from spreading her poisonous lies on Australian soil.

“She is no mere provocateur. Her statements have crossed the line into vile revisionism.”

A wave of anti-Semitism has washed over Australia since the Hamas terror attack on Israel on October 7, 2023.

In one recent case, the shopfront window of Avner’s, a Jewish bakery in inner-city Sydney, was marked with an upside down red triangle on October 13.

The triangle is a Nazi symbol that was used to mark out individuals in concentration camps and it has been used by terror group Hamas to identify Jewish targets.

A note was also left for the owner, TV chef Ed Halmagyi, reading “be careful”.

Originally published as Tony Burke blocks visa for far right US influencer Candace Owens