'I wouldn't do anything differently': Union boss defends anti-abortion ...
‘I wouldn’t do anything differently’: Union boss defends anti-abortion graduation speech
Former union boss Joe de Bruyn has doubled down on comments that sparked a mass walkout at a graduation ceremony in Melbourne, arguing universities are supposed to be institutions that encourage debate.
Most Australian Catholic University students and staff attending the ceremony left the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre on Monday during the speech by de Bruyn, a former national president of the Shop Distributive and Allied Employees’ Association (SDA).
Joe de Bruyn was invited to give a speech for the Australian Catholic University after receiving an honorary doctorate.
“It was disappointing that people walked out and did not listen,” de Bruyn told this masthead.
“Universities are meant to be places of debate. Someone was invited to give a speech and reflect on his life as a Catholic, and when people walk out, that is disappointing.”
During the speech, de Bruyn compared abortion to the loss of life in World War II, denounced IVF treatment for single women and told graduates that marriage was between a man and a woman.
He was invited to speak after receiving an honorary doctorate for his support of the Catholic Church in Australia and his work as a long-time unionist.
Students walked out en masse during the speech.
De Bruyn said some of those who remained in the auditorium gave him a standing ovation.
“I wouldn’t do anything differently. My views are not peculiar views, they may not have majority support, but they are the views of the Catholic Church,” he said. “I thought it was an entirely appropriate venue.”
The Australian Catholic University defended de Bruyn’s right to free speech on Monday, while expressing regret that “staff, graduates and their families disagreed with the content”.
Students and staff have denounced the former union boss’s comments, with some calling for him to be stripped of his honorary doctorate less than 24 hours after receiving it.
The St Patrick’s Student Association, ACU National Student Association, the Melbourne LGBTIQ+ Society and the ACU’s LGBTIQ+ Staff Ally Network said they stood in solidarity with those condemning awarding de Bruyn the doctorate.
“Graduation ceremonies should be a time for students to celebrate their achievements with their families, friends and staff,” they said in a joint statement.
“Instead, ACU senate’s decision to afford de Bruyn a platform to voice his views on reproductive and LGBTIQ+ rights saw the ceremony become a harmful space, which forced the majority of students and staff in attendance to leave.”
The statement said that, given de Bruyn’s views were on the public record, the university should have anticipated they would cause distress for students and staff.
“As such, we do not accept any statement from ACU that suggests the content of his speech was unexpected. We are particularly concerned by reports from staff that ACU counselling staff were organised ahead of time to be available following the ceremony to support students and staff,” they said.
“This suggests ACU management knew full well what to expect from de Bruyn.”
Asked whether anyone had read the speech beforehand, an ACU spokesperson said the university was aware de Bruyn “planned to speak about a number of polarising issues”.
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“[The university] asked him to consider a speech that was better aligned to the occasion, that celebrated the achievements of our students,” the spokesperson said. “We are not in the business of censoring occasional addresses or dictating content to our guest speakers. That would be completely at odds with our values of freedom of expression.
“However, we did strongly encourage Mr de Bruyn to consider his speech through the lens of the graduating students’ achievements, hopes and aspirations. We regret that the speech was not more befitting of a graduation ceremony but acknowledge that Mr de Bruyn has previously made statements on these complex and often polarising issues.”
The spokesperson added that the university did not accept it was a mistake to allow him to speak.
“As a university, we’re committed to open, respectful dialogue. We always encourage people to present their views and beliefs while also being respectful to those who hold a contrary view. We do not censor our speakers but recognise that the content of Mr de Bruyn’s address caused distress and offence to many in the audience.”
The spokesperson said the university had offered counselling to graduates and staff, and acknowledged “the hurt and discomfort that many of our community felt” and “deeply regret any distress this has caused to our community”.
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Staff and students have called on the ACU to explain why de Bruyn was allowed to deliver an address that was expected to upset many of the university’s students and employees.
“We further call on Vice Chancellor [Zlatko] Skrbis and the ACU senate to reimburse all costs for attending students and their families who had their day ruined and provide them with an option to attend another graduation ceremony,” they said.
“Finally, we call on the vice chancellor to give a platform for a graduation speaker to speak on the importance of reproductive and LGBTIQ+ rights in an upcoming graduation ceremony to redress some of the damage management’s decision to invite de Bruyn has done.”
The ACU branch of the National Tertiary Education Union also condemned the honorary doctorate and called on Skrbis and the ACU senate to apologise and reimburse all student attendance costs.
“His speech attacking reproductive and LGBTIQ+ rights turned what should have been a celebration into a hurtful event for staff and students.”
ACU National Student Association president Stefan Orfanos speaks to a group of people at St Mary of the Cross Square in Fitzroy after hundreds of Australian Catholic University students and staff walked out during the Joe de Bruyn speech on Monday.Credit: Joe Armao
The union said the speech was another episode in a “disturbing trend under Vice Chancellor Professor Zlatko Skrbis and the ACU senate after allegations Professor Kate Galloway was let go due to pro-abortion academic work” and staff being instructed by management to remove rainbow flags from their workplaces last year.
Education faculty graduate Charlie Panteli was one of the first to walk out of Monday’s ceremony.
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He is launching a petition for de Bruyn to be stripped of the honorary doctorate.
Staff and students will hold a protest at ACU’s Melbourne campus on Tuesday afternoon.
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