Australia is cracking down hard on potentially controversial public figures who want to enter the country, and American anti-abortion campaigner Troy Newman is the latest to be denied an Australian visa.
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Radical pro-life supporter Troy Newman was stopped while trying to get through immigration at Melbourne Airport on Thursday.
According to The Herald Sun, Newman has caused controversy with his extreme views, which include calling for the execution of doctors who perform abortions and labelling women who have abortions as “murderers”.
Immigration Minister Mr Peter Dutton made the decision on Wednesday to reject Newman’s visa application.
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“I can confirm that my Department has cancelled the visa for Mr. Troy Newman under Section 128 of the Migration Act,” Dutton told News Corp Australia.
“Mr Newman can appeal for a revocation of this decision and no further comment will be made during this appeal period,” he added.
There have been mixed reactions on Twitter to Mr Dutton’s decision.
Troy Newman arrived without a visa. Important for @PeterDutton_MP to not set a precedent. We don’t want advocates of violence here.
— Conrad HC (@conradhc) October 1, 2015
Please allow Troy Newman of @operationrescue to speak in Australia and don't deport him because of abortion advocates' lies @PeterDutton_MP
— Erin Brownback (@ebrownback) October 1, 2015
https://twitter.com/Greg_MarineLab/status/649572361910382592
Abortion should be rare legal & safe @PeterDutton_MP Is right to ban Troy Newman
— Paul Bongiorno (@PaulBongiorno) October 1, 2015
Michael Moore, chief of the Public Health Association of Australia, commended Mr Dutton’s decision, and the Sydney Morning Herald quoted him as saying, “In an Australia that respects women there is no place for Troy Newman“.
Newman was due to conduct a speaking tour as a guest of anti-abortion group Right to Life Australia. Although the Australian Embassy had reversed their decision to grant him a visa before he left the U.S., he went ahead and boarded his flight using a pre-issued boarding pass and made it into the country, where he was subsequently detained, reports Sydney Morning Herald.
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He has been granted temporary reprieve in order to enter discussions with immigration authorities.
“Anyone who advocates the execution of doctors or compares women who seek terminations to murderers clearly fails the Australian community’s character test,” said MP Terri Butler.
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