The Australian Catholic University (ACU) in Melbourne has announced it will refund graduation ceremony fees to the hundreds of students, parents, and staff that walked out in protest after former union leader Joe De Bruyn delivered a speech condemning abortion.
De Bruyn, the former national secretary of the conservative Shop, Distributive, and Allied Employees Association (SDA), was awarded an honorary degree for his contributions to workers’ rights and social welfare.
During his speech on Oct. 21, De Bruyn voiced his concerns about having traditional views on same-sex marriage and abortion, which led to a mass exodus from the venue.
In a statement, the ACU said, “In recognition of the fact that our Melbourne graduation ceremony on Monday afternoon was an unsatisfactory experience for many who attended, the university will offer students a full refund of their graduation ceremony fees.”
It further added that the refund of $165 will cover the cost of the graduation ceremony fees, which includes the cost of the graduates’ attendance at the ceremony, the cost of academic dress hire, three guest tickets, and post-ceremony refreshments.
“Those graduates who purchased additional guest tickets will have those refunded as well.”
Meanwhile, the university has also offered free, confidential counselling services to graduates and staff involved.
The Ceremony and the Unexpected Turn
Charlie Panteli, a graduate receiving a Bachelor of Primary Education, was one of the first to walk out in protest and spoke to ABC Radio about the incident. Panteli described how De Bruyn’s speech quickly shifted from discussing his career achievements to his personal stance on social issues.“He started talking about how abortion was wrong. It was shocking,” he told ABC Melbourne.
“I only heard the part about abortion, and I was one of the first to get up. I spun my hand around, said, ‘This is enough,’ and left.”
Footage of the room revealed most of the students and family had left.
According to comments from media reports, De Bruyn stated that he has been involved in opposing abortion for several decades.
“Today, over 80,000 unborn children are killed by abortion in Australia each year; worldwide, the estimated number is 42 million each year. Abortion is the single biggest killer of human beings in the world, greater than the human toll of World War II. It is a tragedy that must be ended.”
Later, in an interview with The Epoch Times, De Bruyn explained his reasons for talking about the issue.
“These are issues that I was confronted with [during my time in the Labor Party] and how I dealt with them,” he said.
“The final part of my speech was simply to say to the students: You are also going to find in your professional lives and personal lives that issues will come up which might be challenging, and you should deal with them in accordance with your beliefs and not worry that this is going to affect your professional career.”
