Treasurer Jim Chalmers on Sunday morning revealed the 2026 census would count transgender Australians for the first time, saying the government had listened to the LGBT community after equality advocates warned that being excluded from national data would worsen policy outcomes for minority groups.
Senior ministers, including Chalmers, had previously said that including questions about sexuality or gender in the next census would lead to a divisive debate.
The government announced two weeks ago, on August 25, that it was cancelling the Australian Bureau of Statistics’ plans to trial new questions that would identify sexually diverse, transgender and intersex Australians.
By the end of that week, an internal Labor revolt had provoked six MPs to speak out against the decision, and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said there would be one new question on sexual orientation. However, he came under fire for splitting the community by refusing to count transgender Australians.
On Sunday, Chalmers said the government had again changed its position and would include questions on gender. But he did not say there would be questions about intersex characteristics.
The question then needs to illuminate –
Who ‘identifying’ have undergone any surgery to ‘convert’.
Who have put themselves down as ‘woman’ (when they are XY) or ‘man’ (when they are XX).
Who ‘identifies’ spasmodically – that is, switches between ‘identities’.
Etc.
Otherwise its not helpful.
Transgender is a belief system not a reality. A delusion. A fetish.