The acting prime minister, Richard Marles, says the government decided not to add questions on sexuality to the 2026 census to avoid “divisive” community debates.
Marles said the government had opted to take the existing set of questions to the next census rather than adding five new topics – including sexuality – as had been proposed, out of concern for social cohesion.
Until this week, the government had been expected to add questions on whether respondents had changed living locations in the previous 12 months and why, plus questions on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultural identity, gender – including variations of sex characteristics – and sexual orientation.
The extra topics were the result of community consultations last year and were set to be part of a test program ahead of a final government decision. But the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) confirmed this week it received notice on Friday last week the extra topics would not be included.
[Ed: I suspect it is ‘gender identity’ rather than sexuality that is the divisive issue.]
Well, it’s back on again now.
Why our nation is so concerned about asking questions about what fantasies we have about our ‘identified gender’ is beyond me.