Holocaust Centre urges Immigration NZ to 'carefully consider' visa application from Candace Owens

Wednesday, 28 August 2024

Cactus Outdoor co-founder Ben Kepes says he, and many others in the Jewish community, have been subjected to hate comments, religious slurs and threats to safety.

Controversial conservative US broadcaster Candace Owens is due to speak in Auckland in November.

The Holocaust Centre said Owens distorted the Holocaust, and urged Immigration NZ to ‘carefully consider’ any visa application by Owens.

INZ said Owens would need a work visa. It had yet to receive an application from her.

A visit to New Zealand by controversial, right-wing US broadcaster Candace Owens has angered some people, prompting calls for her visa application to be denied.

Owens, who has over 18 million followers on social media, is a far-right activist with a history of making controversial claims, including doubting the holocaust was real. She has also been accused of being anti-Semitic and homophobic.

Owens is due to give a speech in Auckland in November, followed by speeches in major Australian cities, and some politicians and Jewish groups in Australia are reportedly trying to have her stopped from entering that country.

Australian Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke, who has the power to block or refuse a visa, reportedly said he would oversee a brief of Owens' application once it has been made.

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

In one incident in July, Owens said details of some of the acts carried out by Dr Josef Mengele on Jewish and other prisoners held by Nazi Germans during World War 2 and the Holocaust was “bizarre propaganda”.

Candace Owens said she “absolutely” was not anti-Semitic

“Some of the stories, by the way, sound completely absurd,” Owens said.

Referring to an account of humans cut in half, Owens asked: “Why would you do that?” She then said: “Literally, even if you’re the most evil person in the world, that’s a tremendous waste of time and supplies.”

The Holocaust Centre of New Zealand has urged Immigration New Zealand to “carefully consider” granting a visa to Owens.

Holocaust Centre of New Zealand chair Deborah Hart said on Wednesday that Owens had some “wacky” ideas.

“She believes there was no Moon landing, that Jews orchestrated JFK’s assassination and she distorts the Holocaust, including questioning medical experimentation in death camps,” Hart said.

Immigration Minister Erica Stanford’s office said it was inappropriate for the minister to comment on any possible visa application by Owens.

“Holocaust denial and distortion is intrinsically anti-Semitic. It denies Jewish history and Jewish suffering.”

Owens rhetoric included discredited conspiracy theories and the minimisation of the Holocaust. “Her remarks are a repugnant re-writing of history. She should be treated with disdain by all Kiwis. We should all just turn our back to her,” Hart said.

“In a time of a sharp increase in anti-Semitism in New Zealand, Candace Owens rhetoric could incite hatred, discrimination, or violence.

“Allowing her to speak could create a harmful environment for the vulnerable Jewish communities and others including gay and Muslim communities,” Hart said.

Holocaust Centre chair Deborah Hart says New Zealanders should all just turn our backs to Owens.

“We have immigration visa requirements of good character.” Immigration New Zealand “should carefully consider whether our existing laws should be utilised to stop Candace Owens from coming here”.

Asked recently on The Platform about claims she was anti-Semitic, Owens replied: “I absolutely am not an anti-Semite”, saying she had worked for a pro-Zionist Jewish organisation for 2-1/2 years.

People should not be allowed to use the idea of anti-Semitism to shield their bad behaviour, she said.

In a post about her speaking tour to New Zealand and Australia, Owens said the aim was “to discuss everything that they don’t want us speaking about - freedom of speech, why the elites want to launch deathly wasteful wars, and of course why Christ really is king”.

Immigration New Zealand (INZ) national manager border Peter Elms said no visa application had yet been received from Owens, who would need a work visa to engage in paid activities during her tour.

“All visa applicants must meet specific requirements, including a good character assessment that considers factors such as criminal convictions, deportation history, and potential risks to New Zealand's security, public order, or public interest,” Elms said.

To speak at a paid event, Owens would need an entertainers work visa. If she were to enter with an approved promoter's support, Owens could potentially obtain a New Zealand Electronic Travel Authority (NZeTA), provided there were no character concerns.

Immigration Minister Erica Stanford’s office said any possible visa application was an operational matter for INZ, so it would be inappropriate for the minister to comment on the matter.