Key Points
- The federal government has backtracked on the inclusion of LGBTIQ+ census questions after growing pressure.
- Advocacy groups are still criticizing the Prime Minister’s proposed question, saying it excludes parts of the community.
- The opposition is divided on the issue, with Liberal leader Peter Dutton calling the debate a “woke agenda”.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has backtracked on his government’s stance not to include census questions on the LGBTIQ+ community, but advocates say the move is insufficient.
On Friday morning, the Prime Minister announced that a question on LGBTIQ+ identity would appear in the 2026 census and was being tested by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).
However, advocacy groups have urged the government to include any proposed new test questions in the ABS’ review of the December 2023 census.
Anna Brown, CEO of Equality Australia, said the government should not “choose” which part of the community is considered, as she argued for adding questions on gender identity and gender variations. sexual characteristics.
“We welcome the inclusion of a sexual orientation question, but the national portrait of our nation must include all of us, not just some of us,” she said.
“Trans people, gender diverse people, and those with innate variations in sexual characteristics deserve to be recognized as much as anyone else.”
Greens leader Adam Bandt backed the calls and criticized Albanese for being inspired by ‘fear’ [and] hatred of Peter Dutton”, who called these issues a “woke agenda”.
“The queer community shouldn’t have to fight so hard just to be counted. Under enormous pressure, the Prime Minister said he would include a question on sexuality in the census – but not on gender identity. kind. What promises matter to this government?,” Bandt said.
“I know so many queer people were hoping this Labor government would be on their side… LGBTQIA+ people deserve so much better.”
Albanese denied it was a return to pressure, although Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles and Treasurer Jim Chalmers confirmed there would be no questions regarding the sexuality and identity of gender during the census to avoid a “divisive debate” earlier in the week.
Two Labor MPs, Josh Burns and Peter Khalil, broke ranks on Thursday and urged the government to reconsider its position after Labor on Sunday walked back its commitment – contained in its 2023 national platform – to count the community queer in the 2026 census.
It is not yet clear whether other questions about gender identity and innate variation in sex characteristics, also known as intersex, will also be considered.
“There have been proposals for wide-ranging changes to the census and that has been rejected because we think it’s not appropriate,” Albanese told ABC’s RN on Friday morning.
“Previously… people’s sexuality was not as open or accepted as it is today, and so the census, in terms of modernization, reflecting some of the values of change that are there by asking a question , I think people would think that was a pretty logical outcome.”
The addition of questions is subject to government approval and submitted to Parliament before the census.
Greens MP Stephen Bates warned the government that if it did not include all the questions suggested by the review, the party would force the debate in Parliament, potentially forcing members to vote on an amendment to the proposed census changes .
“I think we need to keep the pressure on, and that’s why we’re looking at ways to move this motion through Parliament and force the unions to be on the record,” he told reporters on Friday.
Opposition Leader Peter Dutton has argued that the government is not adding questions to the census, saying that in its current form “we are holding up well as a country”.
But Liberal MP Bridget Archer disagreed with Dutton’s characterization of a “woke agenda” and called the omission of the 2026 census questions “frustrating”.
“It’s just information,” she told ABC on Friday. “If you don’t collect that information, you can’t use it.”
