Shadow Home Affairs Minister Kristina Keneally last night called for a controversial British right wing politician to be barred from Australia.

Raheem Kassam is due to speak at the inaugural Australian Conservative Political Action Conference in Sydney next week.

Senator Keneally called for the activist to be denied a visa because of his “extensive history of vilifying people on the grounds of their race, religion, sexuality and gender”.

Andrew Cooper, director of the conservative conference in question, hit back at the Labor senator over her comments.

“The funny thing about being in a society like ours is you don’t have to listen,” he told 3AW’s Tom Elliott.

“If you don’t like what someone has got to say and you don’t want to listen to them, you don’t have to.

“Kristina Keneally doesn’t seem to appreciate that.”

Mr Cooper accused Ms Keneally silencing free speech.

“There’s an authoritarian streak that runs really deep through the left at the moment.

“As soon as she finds something she doesn’t like she wants to ban it, she wants to shut it down, she wants to dictate to you and I whether we can actually participate in that, or listen to that.”

Ms Keneally appealed to immigration minister Peter Dutton to revoke Mr Kassam’s visa.

The request was denied by Mr Dutton’s office.

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