Controversial British conspiracy theorist David Icke has been banned from entering Australia, with the Home Affairs Department cancelling his visa.
Mr Icke, 66, believes the world has been taken over by alien lizards, including some who have infiltrated the British Royal family.
He is a Holocaust denier who argues the September 11 terrorist attacks in New York City were an inside job.
Mr Icke was due to travel to Australia next month, taking his latest speaking tour to Melbourne, Adelaide, Brisbane, Hobart and Sydney.
Tickets to his appearances ranged from $55 to $75.
“Four hours that will change your life, the World’s Most Famous Alternative Researcher has put together a presentation that will blow even the most open of minds,” the tour website said.
“The man who predicted 9/11, The Banking Crash, Cashless Society, Transhumanism and more, years before they reached the public arena.
“He has been ridiculed time and time again but as the passage of time passes he is proved right again and again and again.”
Sources told the ABC his visa had been cancelled on character grounds.
PHOTO: Controversial British author David Icke’s planned speaking tour in Australia has hit a snag. (Supplied: Tyler Merbler, Flickr)Late last year, the Government cancelled the visa of right-wing provocateur and founder of the Proud Boys group Gavin McInnes ahead of his planned speaking tour of the country.
Labor’s immigration spokesman Shayne Neumann said the Government has made the right decision in this case.
“Labor welcomes the fact that the Government did what we called on them to do and refused David Icke’s visa application,” he said.
“It’s up to Immigration Minister David Coleman to explain who he lets into Australia and how his decisions meet community standards and expectations.
“We would have been concerned if Immigration Minister David Coleman granted a visa to anyone who intends to vilify a segment of the Australian community or sow dangerous seeds of disunity.”
Dvir Abramovich, the chairman of the Anti-Defamation Commission who launched the campaign to revoke Mr Icke’s visa, praised the Government for “declaring in a loud voice that anti-semites and Holocaust deniers will never find a home in Australia.”
“Allowing Icke into our country would have crossed red lines and would have sent the message that it is open season on the Jewish community and that vilifying and maligning Australian Jews is ok and normal,” Dr Abramovich said.