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Speaker 1: Now, as we've discussed, Immigration has banned controversial American commentator

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Speaker 1: Candace Owens from doing her plans speaking to her in

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Speaker 1: this country. Their reasoning is because she has been banned

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Speaker 1: by Australia, they have to ban her from here as well.

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Speaker 1: The Free Speech Union doesn't buy that, and the boss,

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Speaker 1: Jonathan Aling is with us.

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Speaker 2: Now, Hey Jonathan, good afternoon, Heather.

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Speaker 1: They say they've got no discretion. Do you not buy that?

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Speaker 2: Look? Section fifteen of the Immigration Act does require them

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Speaker 2: to exclude them, but that's if Candae Owens has committed

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Speaker 2: a crime of imprisonment of up to five years, or

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Speaker 2: has been deported from the country or something like that.

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Speaker 2: That does apply whatsoever here. She applied for a visa,

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Speaker 2: wasn't given that in Australia.

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Speaker 1: Let me just get this right. So you're saying the

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Speaker 1: only point at which we have to ban somebody that

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Speaker 1: Australia has banned is if they've committed a serious crime

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Speaker 1: or been deported.

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Speaker 2: There's a couple of technical definitions there, and so that's

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Speaker 2: what our legal team is getting into. And the conclusion

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Speaker 2: that they've come up with is that the this threshold

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Speaker 2: has not been met here, and really Immigration New Zealander

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Speaker 2: is looking for a reason to be able to say

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Speaker 2: it's out of our hands, we can't do anything about it.

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Speaker 2: In reality, they absolutely can.

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Speaker 1: So are you serious about your legal action?

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Speaker 2: The more we look at this, the more we look

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Speaker 2: like the Crown Immigration New Zealand here has acted unlawfully.

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Speaker 2: And yes, we're definitely taking them to court. We're going

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Speaker 2: to appeal to the Immigration Minister first though, and the

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Speaker 2: Associate Immigration Minister, Chris Pink, is the one who deals

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Speaker 2: with the pel cases like that. For the most part.

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Speaker 2: I think Chris Pink has a clear head on him

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Speaker 2: and I think he's a strong pre speech advocate. I

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Speaker 2: hope you see sense on this one.

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Speaker 1: Is are you able to appeal to him on Candace

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Speaker 1: Owen's behalf or does Candace Owens have to do the appeal.

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Speaker 2: We're working with her people in Australia right now and

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Speaker 2: so we're in communications and that's what we're hoping to

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Speaker 2: do before the end of the week. Otherwise next week

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Speaker 2: let's see them in the High Court. I mean, I

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Speaker 2: think the stand that's been set here is just incredible.

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Speaker 2: If the Iranians don't like someone Rushdi, do we now

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Speaker 2: have to shut him out as well. I mean, at

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Speaker 2: what point do we get to make these decisions for ourselves,

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Speaker 2: especially considering we know the very essence of the reason

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Speaker 2: the decision was made in Australia by her was because

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Speaker 2: they said we don't like her opinions. I just think

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Speaker 2: it's patently a terrible path to go down where governments

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Speaker 2: and even worse, government officials get to choose what opinions

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Speaker 2: we get to hear.

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Speaker 1: Are you doing this because you, Jonathan, really are desperate

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Speaker 1: to go along to her event or is it because

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Speaker 1: of the principle of free speech.

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Speaker 2: I'm really glad you asked that, Heather, because while others

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Speaker 2: may not like me saying this, I have very little

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Speaker 2: time for Candice Owens. I don't find her particularly compelling,

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Speaker 2: and the fourther she's gone on, the more distasteful she's gone.

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Speaker 2: And I didn't think she was all that that sharp

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Speaker 2: to start with, and it's gone, We'll gotten worse from there.

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Speaker 2: This is absolutely the principle that eventually someone who I

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Speaker 2: do really respect, who I do think is really insightful,

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Speaker 2: eventually a government at some point in the future will

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Speaker 2: want to lock them out as well. And I need

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Speaker 2: to have stood on the principal grounds now in order

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Speaker 2: to be able to call it out then as well.

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Speaker 1: Jonathan, thanks for talking to us through to appreciate it.

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Speaker 1: Jonathan ailing, the boss of the Free Speech Union. For

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Speaker 1: more from Heather Duplessy Allen Drive, listen live to News

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