Granting of Katie Hopkins' visa under investigation by human rights commission

The granting of a visa to British far-right commentator Katie Hopkins is under investigation by the Australian Human Rights Commission following a complaint by a Muslim advocacy organisation.

Hopkins, 46, was issued a visa by the Federal Government last year to appear on a reality TV show – reportedly Channel Seven's Big Brother VIP.

She was granted a critical skills visa to enter the country with the support of the NSW Government.

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Hopkins arrived in Sydney in July while the city and other parts of the country were under COVID-19 lockdowns and thousands of Australians were stranded overseas due to border restrictions.

But the controversial media personality had her visa cancelled during her stay in hotel quarantine and was fined $1000 after she revealed on social media how she flouted health regulations.

In a post on Instagram, now removed, Hopkins said she was taunting hotel guards by answering her door naked and not wearing a mask.

This week the Australian Human Rights Commission agreed to investigate the granting of Hopkins' visa, after a complaint by the Australian Muslim Advocacy Network (AMAN).

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Part of the complaint included a written response from the Home Affairs Department after AMAN wrote to minister Karen Andrews requesting an explanation for the visa.

A department spokesman said the risk of vilification and other injuries must be balanced "against Australia's well-established tradition of freedom of expression".

"It can be reasonably inferred from this statement that Ms Hopkins' freedom of expression, and those who would agree with her in Australia, was given more weight than the human rights of Australians who would be adversely affected by vilification," the AMAN complaint states.

"It is also a reasonable inference that the Minister does not believe that hate speech is best countered by prohibition but by more free speech."

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Ms Andrews last year described Hopkins' behaviour in Australia as "absolutely appalling".

Hopkins has a track record of denigrating minority groups.

She was fired from her UK radio show after calling for a "final solution" following the Manchester Arena bombing in 2017 and has compared migrants to cockroaches.