The Albanese Government decided not to count the number of LGBTQ Australians in the Census to avoid a divisive debate, Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles said. Source: The Age.
The government risks becoming embroiled in another highly charged culture war and faces a test of its progressive credentials having recently shelved plans to overhaul religious discrimination laws and disappointed anti-gambling activists with its plan for only a partial sports betting advertisement ban.
Mr Marles became the first Labor minister to give a reason for blocking moves to count transgender and sexuality in the Census, telling reporters yesterday the Government would stick with the current Census questions, which do not account for gender and sexual diversity.
“We’ve seen how divisive debates have played out across our country, and the last thing we want to do is inflict that debate on a sector of our community right now,” he said at a doorstop interview in Sydney.
“We’re bringing science to bear here in terms of how best to gather data.”
Government ministers had spoken in positive terms about the proposed changes being examined by the Australian Bureau of Statistics before the government decided against making them.
On Sunday, Assistant Treasurer Andrew Leigh ruled out the introduction of new Census topics, despite the Australian Bureau of Statistics apologising last year for the “hurt, stress, and anguish” caused by the exclusion of questions on sexuality.
Several Labor MPs, who requested anonymity to speak freely, said on Monday Labor had backed away from the change to avoid a potential culture war led by faith groups or the Coalition.
A government source said on Monday officials were worried that making the Census more complicated could compromise its quality, and noted that other unrelated questions had also been ruled out of the 2026 survey.
Shadow assistant treasurer Luke Howarth, whose portfolio includes responsibility for the ABS, said debate over the Census questions was a “first-world problem” when asked for the Coalition’s position.
FULL STORY
‘The last thing we want’: Deputy PM says LGBT census questions ditched to avoid division (By Paul Sakkal, The Age)
