Gavin McInnes denied entry into Australia, failing the character test

ABC (Australia)

Right-wing provocateur and founder of the Proud Boys group Gavin McInnes has had his visa application blocked by the Home Affairs Department, failing the character test to enter Australia.

Critics of Mr McInnes were urging the department and Immigration Minister David Coleman to ban him from travelling to Australia for a speaking tour next year, concerned about his extreme views and promotion of violence.

The ABC understands Mr McInnes was notified a few weeks ago that the department was likely to block his visa application because he was judged to be of bad character, and the formal window for him to appeal closed today.

Mr McInnes cut ties with the Proud Boys group earlier this month. The group, which Mr McInnes has previously labelled a "gang", describes itself as a men's organisation, committed to upholding "Western chauvinist values".

The FBI designated them as an extremist organisation.

Yesterday, a petition of 81,000 signatures was delivered to Federal Parliament calling on the Government to block Mr McInnes from entering the country.

Lawyer Nyadol Nyuon, who founded the petition, said the Government's decision was a win for free speech.

"To have allowed him to come still I think would have made it seem as if the Government had given tacit approval at the very least to these calls for violence against people you don't agree with as a legitimate form of free speech," she said.

"It's not and it should never be."

Ms Nyuon said Mr McInnes could not possibly have met the character test for entry to Australia.

"I'm happy that women, non-whites, certain members of the LGBTI communities don't have to live in an atmosphere of fear after these individuals are allowed to come in, or from the fear of what that might suggest to them," she said.

Mr McInnes was due to tour the country early next year, alongside UK far-right activist Tommy Robinson.

The ABC understands no visa application has been received for Mr Robinson.

Their "The Deplorables" tour of Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, Perth and the Gold Coast had already been delayed a number of months.

The Proud Boys list their values as including being against political correctness, racial guilt and racism, while promoting free speech and gun rights.

But they have been widely criticised as promoting violence against people who do not share their views.

In a statement, a spokeswoman for the Department of Home Affairs said all non-citizens entering Australia had to meet character requirements before a visa would be granted.

"For visitors who may hold controversial views, any risk they may pose will be balanced against Australia's well-established freedom of speech and freedom of beliefs, amongst other relevant considerations," she said.

Dvir Abramovich, chairman of Australia's leading civil rights organisation, the Anti-Defamation Commission, issued a statement praising the Government's decision to reject Mr McInnes's application.

"I have no doubt that his visit would have cultivated a disruptive atmosphere of incitement as well as attracting hardcore extremists, and this explosive combination could have resulted in rioting and street fights," Dr Abramovich said.

"At a time when anti-Semitism and far-right activism in our nation are on the increase, we should not be providing such individuals with an opportunity to promote their divisive and dangerous agenda which runs counter to our core values."

I'm otherwise critical on Australia's super strict policies, but DAMN! Good call this go around.

And before I see anyone blaming the "leftists", keep in mind, Australia is right-leaning last I checked.

Gavin is a typical alt-right coward playing a tough guy. He created the incel Proud Boys, was fantasizing how they are going to beat and kill the SJW/Antifa and other groups all over the internet and as soon as the idiots started committing actual violence, he pissed off out of the gang as if he had nothing to do with inciting violence in the first place.

According to the article Australia has prevented total societal collapse, which would have happened shortly after Gavin McInnes landed.

Good call; you can't have true free speech if people like McInnes abuse that right.

I don't like these news. It doesn't set a good precedent. That guy should have the right to travel to australia, if only so people can debunk his garbage. Let him travel there, then, let the media rip him to pieces.

Regarding the "Leftists" comment. People will blame them regardless. Being a swede, I had non-swedish citizens blame leftists constantly for things done during 2006-2014... for the actions done by the right wing government *laughter*

I disagree, Free speech is all about giving savages like Gavin McInnes their right to their disgusting speech.

And I disagree because no rights are absolute. That combined with the fact that he is not an Australian means that the US should keep its own garbage at home.

I am not in favor of my own country allowing similar trolls freedom of mobility in my country when we already have internally enough of these trolls. Moreover, my fellow citizens already have multiple channels to access this trolls speech and are in no way being denied access to this trolls ideas. The only impingement is around mobility of a non-citizen and whether the ideas can be expressed face to face.

All up, I assess this to be a minor and acceptable impingement that does not materially restrict my own fellow citizens access to whatever speech they want. Stepping back it is quite obvious that the objections are actually not about access to speech and ideas per se; but rather something else.

Gavin did it all wrong. He tried to enter the country by legal means. It's 2018. You're supposed to smuggle yourself in, bring your wife and kids along and say you're escaping political repression. Maybe rub a little dirt in their faces for CNN's cameras. His wife and kids are POC's too..missed opportunity

but..but hate speech!

Canadian not American. Continue your anti-american rant.

I can't stand Gavin, he's a douche. But I'm against the move. I'm all for freedom of speech. Let people make up their own minds after listening. It's pretty stupid how Australia let a muslim cleric into the country rant about homosexuals, apostates and shit. At least be consistent.

Shouldn't Australia be allowed to decide who gets to enter their country?

@nintendoboy16: It always amazes me how Australia, Canada and the UK fail to see that by not allowing someone entry, they are giving them a much bigger platform than if they had just let them enter and spew whatever nonsense they want.

Free Speech is not absolute but it´s a cornerstone of any democracy and by not allowing some they are sliding down a dangerous slippery slope.

Sure they can but what is striking here is the left´s hypocrisy, they are all for no borders unless they use them to for their own benefit.

Lol look at the far left loons in this thread. Banning a political commentator because you disagree with him? That is laughable but every typical of the left.

Which part of the left wants open borders? I¨'m quite sure even Obama was for enforcing some sort of border control so people couldn't get in unchecked. Though there is a difference between letting people applying for legal residence, housing them in perhaps not the best conditions, and tear gassing them right at the border.

I get your point, but comparing people fleeing violence, poverty, and worse...

...to someone that wants to spew hate speech? Bit of a stretch calling that hypocrisy.

I would call that common sense.

Free speech is absolute, and it must remain absolute.

There is a huge difference though

One is coming there to spew hate. And build a worse future.

The others are trying to escape violence and build a better future. While actually building a better economy.

The man is harmless. He’s a right wing pundit at best and the last time I checked, it’s fine to be a proud member of the Right.

The Left’s demonization of anyone who doesn’t agree with them and shut them up is wrong. It’s also fascism.

Bad call Australia, bad call.

@Maroxad: @SOedipus: @blackhairedhero: @Jacanuk: Here's the problem, Gavin has outright encouraged violence on those he doesn't agree with. And hell, this is hardly the first time Australia banned politically controversial figures before, regardless of leaning.

One example being Gerry Adams of the Irish political party, Sinn Fein.

Australia......the country believing video games will cause anarchy.

@nintendoboy16: Not sure we're "right-leaning"... I mean our current government is but not the population in general I don't think.

Anyway, glad this guy wasn't allowed in.

Sure, but has he actually committed any violence? Also the main issue here is that one side is limiting another´s rights because they feel it´s morally ok to do so, while at the same time arguing that free speech is applicable to all.

What Australia is doing is no better then what China or any other dictatorship is doing.

I find the hypocrisy in your post laughable. If entering a country is a right then why are you cowering in fear over the "invasion" from the south. You can't have it both ways.

YES! And he's boasted about beating someone up with a black eye on air at one time.

Boasting is one thing, was he ever convicted? if not then again you cannot demand free speech without also accepting it being used for others.

I believe there was possibly some violence involving a dildo, but you probably don't want to know any more....

So when will Australia start denying entry & deporting Muslim hate preachers?...

Federal level maybe...State & Local definitely nope...Canberra has same sex pedestrian lights ..lol...don't think that's something propose by right leaning govt.

This guy (whoever he is) was trying to visit Australia to promote his pro-white male, anti-everyone else values.

Free speech is one thing (and most of the world takes that a lot less seriously than the US)...but if he was promoting violence against women and different races, that's hate speech. If he's promoting hate speech, he shouldn't be allowed in - just like we wouldn't let in religious extremists, the KKK, or other people trying to promote views that are harmful to our society.

For context, this is happening at a time when female representation in parliament is in the spotlight, the government is trying to crack down on domestic violence, and society is divided on fear-mongering against "African gangs." We don't need idiots coming in, lighting fuses for those powder kegs.

@LJS9502_basic: You don't see the difference between one man visiting a country and thousands trying to stay there forever? Really?

Reading comprehension is not your thing.......

@LJS9502_basic: I'm pretty sure you compared "banning Gavin Mccinnes " to thousands of immigrants illegally crossing the boarder. If you want a country to allow someone to visit you should want people to be able to cross the boarder at will . Was that not your point?

Once again you have reading comprehension issues since that's twice now you demonstrated you didn't understand the post. Are you going for the third strike yet?

On one hand, he’s not a citizen so you’re not really violating his rights.

But alt-right in person is very different than alt-right on the internet. Look at those dufuses in Charlottesville, Lot of ill-fitting khaki pants and polos, $8 haircuts, and doughy bodies holding foam shields that they made in their spare time. No women to be seen amongst their ranks.

Really makes it hard to recruit to the movement when your members look like the grownup version of the kids that were picked on in school.

@SUD123456: we for one .....he is Canadian. Raise.

Two....he is English born.

Three....he is Scottish decent.

And four....all those things less then 50 years would have racist see him no better then the people he makes hate speeches about.

@LJS9502_basic: well then what did you mean by " invasion from the south"?

This is the shit you always do though. You couldn't even answer a simple question in the last thread either.

@Baconstrip78: The people on the left that showed up to protest against them didn't look any better.

Most looked like gender queer rejects are efiminate men who were trying to get their fat pink haired girlfriend to bang them. And the girls on the left that were at the rally were either over 250 pound or looked like homeless drug addicts.

I'd say the whole rally was a shitshow.

Maybe pay attention to the original post that was elicited the response. DUH.

And strike three. You're out.

@LJS9502_basic: I read your original post. Your a dunce and that's exactly what you ment. I just called you out in your stupidity.

Yes what he says sucks. I am not going to disagree with that.

But last time we swedes tried to downplay and deplatform disgusting ideologues, they ended up becoming the third biggest political party in the country. The media did effectively censor them (by refusing to sell them advertisements) which garnered them sympathy.

Heck, even calling them out on their ****, made them baw like little babies... which may have garnered them sympathy.

@blackhairedhero: They looked like normal college kids to me.

I’m not the only one that sees how pathetic those alt right dorks looked either. The white supremacist Andre anglin and editor of the daily stormer said this:

“We need to remain in the realm of the hip, cool, sexy, fun. We need to speak to the culture. We do not want the image of being a bunch of weird losers who march around like assholes while completely outnumbered and get mocked by the entire planet. That is exactly what you do not want. And basically, that is what the Alt-Right has become synonymous with post-Charlottesville.“

@Baconstrip78: Ohh hes right they did have a bunch of losers. But Antifa members dont look like normal college kids to me. They look like dweebs. Kids that haven't lifted a weight in their entire life and then dress up in all black with skull mask.

That's not normal to me.

The only stupid one is the dunce who doesn't understand.

Who is this Gavin dude? Never heard of him.

What is white culture? People keep talking about white culture but what is exactly white culture?

@watercrack445: I'm half Irish and half German, so my heritage involves drinking a lot of alcohol very efficiently.

Going to plays, golf, being snooty towards others, making sure minorities can't pull themselves out of poverty while preaching about how everyone can pull themselves up by their bootstraps, voting people in who give them government handouts at the expense of educators, etc.

@watercrack445:

An invention of racists that hate minorities. Diversity is our greatest strength yet racists want to bitterly cling to the past and have white ethno states

Frankly I would say a lot of different things than that. Don't know how serious you are with this post though.

Mostly white countries are democratic (or considered flawed democratic), with perhaps the most prominent exception being Russia. We are generally more welcoming to minorities than other countries. Though I guess that is somewhat tied with the previous point.

It sure isn't perfect, but we are a lot better than your post make it seem.

I'm partially joking because most of those things aren't what white people consider part of "white culture", but at the same time it's part of what we have actually been doing as well (at least in the US).

Maybe not the "snooty" part though. And again, I'm talking about in the US, not on your side of the pond.

I was trying to be more general. Including US...