2024-08-30
The Australian Greens have said they will force a vote on including LGBTIQA+ Australians in the 2026 census when Parliament returns if the Prime Minister can’t commit to including questions on gender identity and intersex status.
Earlier today on radio the Prime Minister revealed there would “be a question [on sexuality] in the census” if it was successfully tested by the ABS.
However, he made zero commitment to push for questions on diverse gender identities or sex characteristics, potentially leaving trans and intersex Australians behind.
The Greens say the Prime Minister must now make clear that the 2026 census will include questions covering the entire community, following through on Labor’s election commitment.
Earlier this week when Labor initially said it would not add questions to the census on sexual orientation or gender identities, several Labor MPs criticised the decision, saying they backed LGBTIQA+ people being included.
This included Josh Burns and Peter Khalil who are both at risk of losing their seats to the Greens at the next federal election.
The Greens say by bringing on a vote in Parliament, these MPs would be forced to cross the floor and show they’re serious. The Greens hope other Labor MPs, not just the ones at risk of losing their seats to the Greens, would also cross the floor.
Labor previously broke its promise to protect the LGBTQIA+ community in religious discrimination laws.
Quotes attributable to Australian Greens LGBTIQA+ spokesperson, Stephen Bates MP:
“How many more broken promises will Labor make before it becomes clear they couldn’t care less about LGBTIQA+ Australians?
“And now the Prime Minister, panicked by criticism this week, is trying to split the queer community down the middle.
“If we don’t keep the pressure up Albanese will keep on feeding us scraps and half measures. They need to count us in, all of us, gay, lesbian, bisexual, trans, intersex and everything in between.
“It’s all well and good for some Labor MPs to break rank on social media, but will they cross the floor in Parliament when it counts?
“The community has been asking for this Census change for years. Labor must do the bare minimum and implement it.
“We need to keep the pressure on. Labor has already shown us just how quickly progress can be scrapped.”