Candace Owens’ cancelled Australian tour has left about 15,000 ticket holders unlikely to receive refunds after promoter Rocksman entered liquidation with 21 cents in its bank account.
The US conservative commentator was due to tour Australia in 2024 before the federal government refused her a visa, citing her “capacity to incite discord”. The decision was later upheld by the High Court in October 2025.
Rocksman’s liquidator, David Sampson, filed a statutory report to creditors with ASIC dated 3 March. The report said the company had no insurance to cover the cancellation and had spent the money from ticket sales.
Ticket holders unlikely to be refunded
Joel Jammal, head of Turning Point Australia and a sponsor of the tour, said he believed around 15,000 tickets had been sold. Tickets reportedly started at $95 and reached $1,500 for VIP packages.
That suggests Rocksman sold at least $1.4 million worth of tickets. The company was placed into liquidation in December.
The liquidator’s report identified debts of more than $760,000 to creditors, including employees and ticket holders. It also stated Rocksman did not have enough funds to begin legal proceedings to recover money for creditors.
Owens claims she was also left out of pocket
Owens’ spokesperson said the commentator’s team had also lost money after Rocksman allegedly promised to cover the cost of challenging the visa refusal in the High Court.
“Candace’s team ended up paying hundreds of thousands of dollars in legal bills, as well as providing numerous loans to Rocksman to make refunds [before] it became apparent that their assurances were meaningless,” the spokesperson said.
The spokesperson also alleged Owens’ team only learned of Rocksman’s liquidation through media reporting in January.
“Right up until the last day, they were still promising us that refunds were just around the corner,” the spokesperson said to The Guardian.
Sponsors also claim money is owed
The tour’s main sponsor, bullion dealer As Good As Gold, has also claimed it is owed money.
Jarrad Panes, co-director of As Good As Gold, said Rocksman told him the company’s $80,000 sponsorship would be refunded in 2025.
“It’s like, what have you done with all of this money?” Panes said to The Guardian.
Questions over Rocksman’s finances
Rocksman’s sole director and shareholder is listed as George Zacharia.
Sampson’s preliminary investigations indicated the company may have traded while insolvent. The report also identified $385,000 worth of transactions that may require further investigation as possible “unreasonable director-related transactions”.
Jammal said he was not aware of Rocksman’s financial difficulties when he told ticket holders refunds would be issued.
“I was not aware of any insolvency issues or broader financial difficulties within Rocksman at the time I communicated publicly that refunds would be issued,” Jammal said.
“Turning Point Australia’s involvement was limited to acting as a sponsor and assisting with promotion,” Jammal said.
Rocksman was involved in a network of previous conservative speaking events in Australia, including tours connected to Nigel Farage, Donald Trump Jr and Milo Yiannopoulos.