United Airlines, which flew Mr Newman to Australia, faces a potential fine for carrying him. Troy Newman, via his Facebook page. Credit:Facebook Counsel for the Commonwealth gave the undertaking not to immediately remove Mr Newman at a hearing in Melbourne before High Court justice Geoffrey Nettle on Thursday evening, at which counsel for Mr Newman sought to have the decision to bar him from Australia overturned. High Court Justice Geoffrey Nettle has adjourned the matter until Friday afternoon to give Mr Dutton time to consider the case overnight. Mr Newman, who wants doctors who perform abortions to be executed, was scheduled to speak at a national Right to Life tour from Friday.

Counsel for Mr Newman told the hearing that the federal government's decision to prevent the speaker from coming to Australia was flawed because Mr Newman has never incited violence. Terri Butler Credit:Alex Ellinghausen While Mr Newman has been arrested for taking part in anti-abortion protests in the US, he has never been charged or advocated violence, the court heard. "The basis of the (visa) finding seems to rest solely on the adverse reaction to my client's presence in Australia," barrister Richard Knowles said. Mr Newman also never received official notification from the immigration department that his visa had been revoked, the court heard.

But shortly after Mr Newman's counsel outlined its arguments, lawyers for the immigration minister said they were willing to enter into discussions with Mr Newman. "We propose an undertaking this man will not be removed for the next 24 hours," David Brown said. "There will be discussions between the parties so that the matters can be resolved." Earlier on Thursday, Mr Newman's lawyers filed an urgent application on his behalf to the Federal Court, seeking to restrain the federal government from preventing his entry. But they contacted the court minutes before they were due to appear before Justice Christopher Jessup at 10.30am, saying their client wished to withdraw his application.

Mr Newman's wife Melissa Newman told ABC's 7:30 that Australian authorities should free her husband, who is reportedly holed up in a cell in Melbourne Airport. "I don't know what they're afraid of. I don't know what they think he's going to do here," she said. "We just went to another airline and booked our tickets to LAX [Los Angeles International Airport]. When we got to LAX we had our boarding pass, already, because they issued it in Wichita from LAX to Melbourne," Ms Newman said. "They let us on the plane without any trouble at all." On Facebook on Wednesday, Mr Newman said his visa was revoked mid-flight and he was "pulled off a plane in Denver and told I could not travel to Los Angeles" and then on to Melbourne, where he was due to speak on Friday night.

In a post on Thursday he said the revocation was "based on a pile of lies, including the idea that I promote violence". "Through a chain of events the Lord has allowed me to get on a plane in spite of many objections by the airlines and Australia," he wrote at about 4am EST. "[W]e have been in the air 11 hours and will land in about 4. Please pray that we can get past immigration so the truth can be told throughout Australia." On Facebook Mr Newman's supporters welcomed his decision to flout Australia's immigration laws. "Amen! Nothing will stop the Lord's servant!!!" wrote Robert Charles.

"Now that is Divine Intervention that you were able to get a plane," wrote Susan Schneider. On Thursday, the Right to Life Australia website was still taking bookings for Mr Newman's speaking engagements in Melbourne, Hobart, Sydney, Brisbane and Cairns. The Sydney event was to be held at NSW Parliament. Labor MP Terri Butler had welcomed the decision to revoke Mr Newman's visa, saying it "sends a strong message to those who would seek to cause discord in the community, and disrupt the ability of women to access lawful reproductive medicine". "There is no place for this kind of hate speech in Australia – and I'm pleased the government has listened to our concerns," she said. "Anyone who advocates the execution of doctors or compares women who seek terminations to murderers clearly fails the Australian community's character test."

Labor had written to Immigration Minister Peter Dutton asking him to cancel Mr Newman's visa. The letter cited excerpts from a book Mr Newman co-authored, which said women who have abortions are "guilty of murder" and doctors who perform the procedures should be executed "in order to expunge bloodguilt [sic] from the land and people". Public Health Association of Australia chief executive Michael Moore praised Mr Dutton for his "strong stance against purveyors of violence to women". "In an Australia that respects women there is no place for Troy Newman," he said. But the Australian Christian Lobby urged the government to reconsider its decision, claiming Mr Newman helped expose US Planned Parenthood staff "selling the dismembered body parts of unborn babies to medical research companies".



While Planned Parenthood donates foetal tissue for medical research, it does not gain financially from the practice.

The lobby's managing director Lyle Shelton conceded Mr Newman's views on the death penalty "certainly sound extreme" and he was uncomfortable with his ungracious tone when questioning Denver airline staff who blocked him from boarding a plane.



"Despite this, he appears to have no criminal history and his pro-life activities over many years yield no record of inciting violence," Mr Shelton said. On Facebook on Wednesday, Mr Newman asked people to pray for him, saying he was "stuck in Denver airport like a man without a country". He posted a video in which he confronts Denver airport staff after being told he cannot board a flight to Los Angeles. The staff tell him to contact the Australian embassy. "Since when does the Australian embassy prevent me from travelling from Denver to LA?" he asks. The female official asks him to stop recording the encounter, to which he replies "what are you afraid of? Tell me why I can't get on this plane right now to LA".

"Are you going to listen to the Australian government, or to the fact that I have a ticket?" With Jane Lee and AAP Follow us on Twitter