Jonathan Ayling: Candace Owens barred from entry into New Zealand

Late yesterday afternoon Immigration New Zealand barred Candace Owens from entering New Zealand. It seems (incredibly) the best response New Zealand now has to opinions that some find distasteful or wrong is to exclude them from the conversation entirely.

 


Like many Kiwis, you may not even know who Candace Owens is.

A conservative commentator from the United States (formerly on the Daily Wire with Ben Shapiro), she has been accused of ‘far-right’ and ‘extremist’ views. For this reason, since she announced her tour of Australia and New Zealand, would-be-censors have been campaigning, like they did with Posie Parker, to have immigration officials block her entry.

They succeeded in having Australian officials do this last month. Now, the same thing has happened here.

A sophisticated country is able to deal with opinions that some find controversial, distasteful, or even dangerous. The most mature way to deal with these views is to challenge and rebut them, not to exclude them from the conversation.

Immigration New Zealand is arguing that section 15 of the Immigration Act requires them to exclude individuals who have been barred from entering New Zealand and who have been barred from entering other countries. “Nothing to see here, our hands are tied” is basically all they can muster.

Firstly, we think they are wrong. Our legal team has started burning the (almost) midnight oil, but we’re actively looking at challenging this decision, on the basis Immigration is acting unlawfully. (I’ll spare you the legal details, but it comes down to the technical definitions of ‘excluded).

Secondly, even if she was ‘excluded’, why on earth should we have law that automatically means we then barre others entry. Should we shut out Salman Rushdie because the Iranians don’t like him?

Every year hundreds, if not thousands of less well-known people who have been denied entry to Australia have been allowed to visit NZ.

This action by Immigration NZ is a smokescreen.

Public calls by Young Labour over the past few months to exclude Owens from NZ shores is the more likely reason for the action. Anyone who’s been following this story knows this.

But who at Immigration NZ would be willing to risk admitting that their refusal is based on Owens’ controversial opinions, right?

It’s easier for officials to fudge their reading of the legislation than to admit they’re vetting a person for expressing personal beliefs which, though highly controversial, are still permitted under section 14 of the NZ Bill of Rights Act.

But we know censorship has a nasty way of boomeranging back on censors.

Mark my words: Candace Owens will come to New Zealand eventually to hold public events. And when she does, many more people will attend than otherwise would have, as a result of these attempts to shut her out.

Here’s what we’ve done (in the past 2 hours):

1. We’ve written to the Ministers of Immigration (Erica Stanford is the Minister of Immigration, but Chris Penk, as the Associate Minister, is actually responsible for these decisions).

We’re calling on the Government to exercise discretion and allow Owens entry.

2. Our legal team is working to challenge this decision. In our minds, this isn’t about Candace Owens herself. It’s about the principle, that the Government blocking individuals from speaking in New Zealand because we dislike their opinions is a dangerous road.

3. We’ve contacted media: while some Kiwis will think it’s a ‘victory’ that Owens has been excluded, I’m confident that New Zealanders around the country are big enough to deal with others’ perspectives, whether they agree or not.

We need to ensure the public is aware of this decision and the Government is held accountable.

4. That’s where you come in! We need your help to put pressure on the Government.

Chris Penk (Chris.Penk@parliament.govt.nz), is the Associate Minister of Immigration who has the authority to use his discretion to allow Candace Owens is. Seeing as there is no legitimate argument to exclude her (other than ‘the Australians did’ — what, are we an Australian State now? :-), he should grant her entry. An e-mail from you, saying exactly that, will help get his attention.

Jonathan Ayling is the Chief Executive of the Free Speech Union. In between running his Wairarapa vineyard and being Zen with his bees, he enjoys standing up for the freedoms that make New Zealand the stunning country it is. This article was sourced HERE