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ACU Offers Refund, Counselling for Those Who Walked Out During Anti-Abortion Remarks

Joe De Bruyn is the former head of the “Shoppers” union, one of the largest conservative, Catholic unions in Australia.
ACU Offers Refund, Counselling for Those Who Walked Out During Anti-Abortion Remarks
An ultrasound of a fetus, approximately five months after conception, taken in February 2001. Didier Pallages/AFP via Getty Images
Naziya Alvi Rahman
Naziya Alvi Rahman
10/23/2024|Updated: 10/23/2024
0:00

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.

Naziya Alvi Rahman
Naziya Alvi Rahman
Author
Naziya Alvi Rahman is a Canberra-based journalist who covers political issues in Australia. She can be reached at [email protected].
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Australian Catholic University
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