Candace Owens will be allowed to enter New Zealand after the government lifted a ban on her visa following a move by neighboring Australia to keep out the controversial commentator over comments that have been criticized as anti-Semitic.
Owens, the former Daily Wire podcaster who has millions of followers on social media, will be allowed into New Zealand after a government official cited the “importance of free speech” in overturning an earlier ban.
New Zealand’s immigration agency refused her an artist work permit in November on the grounds that visas cannot legally be granted to those who have been expelled from another country.
Owens appealed the decision to Associate Immigration Minister Chris Penk, according to a statement from Penk’s office Thursday.
Penk, who is allowed discretion over visa decisions, granted Owens a visa “after considering the representations made to him, including the importance of free speech,” the statement said.
Owens, who has denied being an anti-Semite after emerging as a critic of Israel, praised the decision.
She released a statement to The Post saying: “I’m excited to be traveling to New Zealand to talk to people, share ideas and engage in meaningful conversations.”
“I applaud the Minister for protecting the rights of individuals to engage in political discourse without fear of being silenced,” said Owens.
Owens remains banned from Australia, where she was scheduled to appear before ticket-paying audiences to hear her speak.
In October, Tony Burke, the Australian government minister in charge of immigration, banned Owens from the country for comments she made about horrific Nazi experiments on Jewish death camp inmates during the Holocaust.
“From underestimating the impact of the Holocaust with comments about [Nazi physician Josef] Mengele to claims that Muslims started slavery, Candace Owens has the capacity to stir up controversy in almost any direction,” Burke said.
Owens attacked Burke on her show last month. She denied downplaying Mengele’s experiments and said the Australians were keeping her out because “people don’t want me to go in front of an audience” to talk about “the death that’s going on in Palestine”.
“They cannot produce [videos of] I’m discussing Mengele because he doesn’t exist,” Owens said on her talk show last month.
“If you’re talking about someone so mean, why is a lie required?”
Earlier this year, Owens left the Daily Wire after a public spat with the news site’s co-founder Ben Shapiro, a staunch supporter of Israel, over the October 7, 2023, terrorist attacks by Hamas.
By postal wire
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