Controversial Canadian speaker denied visa as Auckland agency cancels booking

Friday, 6 July 2018

Canadian speakers Stefan Molyneux and Lauren Southern have been barred from an Auckland Council venue.

An Auckland Council agency has cancelled a venue booking by two controversial Canadian speakers on security and safety grounds, and they will now not visit New Zealand.

Lauren Southern and Stefan Molyneux were due to speak at Takapuna's Bruce Mason Theatre next month as part of an Australasian tour.

Molyneux hosts a podcast called Freedomain Radio, which is said to spread the cause of liberty.

Southern's views on immigration have prompted the New Zealand Federation of Islam Associations to ask the Government to bar her entry to New Zealand.

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In March, Southern was barred from entering the United Kingdom, with a Home Office spokesperson saying her presence in the UK was 'not conducive to the public good', international media reported.

On Thursday, Auckland Live director Robbie Macrae said security concerns around 'the health and safety of the presenters, staff and patrons' had led to the event's cancellation.

'The cancellation comes as Auckland Live continues its regular and ongoing assessments around hiring its venues to promoters of shows and events, to ensure everyone has the best and safest experience possible,' he said.

In a tweet, Auckand Mayor Phil Goff said venues should not be used to 'stir up ethnic or religious tensions.

'Views that divide rather than unite are repugnant, and I have made my views on this very clear.

'Lauren Southern and Stefan Molyneux will not be speaking at any council venues.'

Southern replied on Twitter, saying: 'No system will survive if it is contingent on shutting down any discussion or criticism of its issues. What kind of faith does this inspire in your ideology if it cannot be questioned?

'Does the 'enrichment' of diversity come at the cost of our rights to speech?'

Goff fired back, tweeting: 'Let me be very clear, the right to free speech does not mean the right to be provided with an Auckland Council platform for that speech.'

The Australian-based promoter, David Pellowe of Axiomatic Events, said the pair would now not visit New Zealand, but would webcast an event free-of-charge on the internet.

Pellowe said Lauren Southern had been denied an automatic entry visa to New Zealand because she had been denied entry to the United Kingdom, but lawyers had been working on securing one.

'The extreme fundamentalist and organised left have a deliberate and evidently successful strategy,' Pellowe said of the opposition to the pair's visit.