Immigration Minister David Coleman has denied Milo Yiannopoulos an Australia visa over the right-wing troll’s “appalling” comments on the Christchurch mosque shooting.
After the Department of Immigration initally recommended he be banned on character grounds, reports emerged that Coleman had intervened to grant Yiannopoulos the visa.
Several Liberal MPs including Tim Wilson and One Nation leader Pauline Hanson earlier argued Yiannopoulous should be allowed to tour Australia on free speech grounds.
But David Coleman confirmed on Saturday Yiannopoulous would “not be allowed” to enter Australia for a speaking tour after comments he made in relation to the Christchurch massacre on Friday.
Coleman said in a statement the comments were “appalling and foment hatred and division”.
“The terrorist attack in Christchurch was carried out on Muslims peacefully practising their religion,” he said.
“Australia stands with New Zealand and with Muslim communities the world over in condemning this inhuman act.”
Labor MP Tony Burke, who had earlier called for Yiannopoulos to be ban, praised the government’s decision.
“Milo banned. Good. His overnight comments weren’t that different from how he has always behaved,” he tweeted.
“There was already enough evidence to ban him which is why the department had already recommended he be banned.
“The Australian tours for the world’s hate speakers must stop.”
Yiannopoulos previously had his Australian tour cancelled last November due to “unforeseen circumstances”.
His 2017 tour of Australia saw violent clashes between left- and right-wing protesters, including a violent brawl in Victoria which required police to intervene and a $50,000 bill from Victoria Police that Yiannopoulos hasn’t paid.
Yiannopoulos has previously been linked to neo-Nazis and white supremacists, has been banned from Twitter for harassment and in 2017 famously urged Australians to vote “no” for same-sex marriage just months after marrying his own husband.
Last June he sent threatening text messages to journalists that read, “I can’t wait for the vigilante squads to start gunning journalists down on sight” and lost his own job as editor of right-wing news site Breitbart in February 2017 for comments about victims of child sex abuse.
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