Albanese has ‘tied himself in knots’ over LGBTIQ+ Census questions, Liberal senator says

KEY POINTS
  • The PM has faced backlash after it was revealed his government wouldn’t include questions about the LGBTIQ+ community.
  • On Friday, Albanese confirmed a single question about “sexuality, sexual preference” would appear on the next Census.
  • Liberal senator Andrew Bragg said it would be reasonable to include questions on gender and sexual identity.

Anthony Albanese should back additional Census questions on gender and sexual identity, a Liberal senator says, as the prime minister insists Labor’s stance on the issue has not changed.

Albanese has faced a backlash over the past week after it was revealed his government would not include such questions in the 2026 snapshot of Australia — abandoning a pre-election promise.

The move — which the government claimed was

— drew swift criticism from LGBTIQ+ groups and advocates, experts, and some MPs

.

The prime minister backflipped on Friday and confirmed

about “sexuality, sexual preference” would appear on the next Census. The exact wording of this question is not yet clear, and there are concerns this approach will not adequately capture Australia’s queer community.

Anthony Albanese wearing a suit, tie, and glasses listening while at a press conference that is behind held outdoors.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says the federal government is taking a “commonsense approach” to Census questions. Source: AAP / Lukas Coch

Liberal senator Andrew Bragg on Sunday told the ABC’s Insiders program he would like to see questions on both sexuality and gender identity.

“It’s been my view for a long time that gender identity and sexual orientation are reasonable questions to ask in a modern society,” Bragg told Insiders.

“I think the fact the prime minister has tied himself in knots on this issue shows a great weakness in his own leadership.”

Opposition leader Peter Dutton had initially backed a Census status quo and criticised what he labelled a “woke agenda” but then appeared to walk those comments back after Albanese’s backflip, saying he was “fine” with adding gender and sexuality questions.

The queer community wants the government to ask about gender identity to adequately cover the number of trans and intersex people in Australia and use the information to make better-informed policy decisions.

But Social Services Minister Amanda Rishworth said the government was presented with “questions that were very complex in the census”.

“We want people to complete the Census and we want simple questions that people can understand and answer, that’s really important,” Rishworth told Sky News on Sunday.

“The census isn’t for another two years and I think we’ve got plenty of time to make sure that we get the question right.”

Rishworth said there were other ways to collect data, which the government was doing as it worked through a decade-long plan on LGBTIQ+ health and wellbeing.

Albanese on Saturday insisted his party had not changed its Census question policy, saying the federal government was taking a “commonsense approach to these issues”.

“It (the Census) is two years away and we’ll work with the ABS,” Albanese told reporters.

“But I think that commonsense would see that asking about sexual orientation is a commonsense thing to do.”

With the Australian Associated Press.

Note: This article have been indexed to our site. We do not claim legitimacy, ownership or copyright of any of the content above. To see the article at original source Click Here

Related Posts
Above: Orbital develops energy systems for  spacecraft under recent awards thumbnail

Above: Orbital develops energy systems for spacecraft under recent awards

Artist's rendering of Above: Orbital's Voyager Station, which rotates to produce varying levels of artificial gravity. Credit: Above: Orbital SAN FRANCISCO – Above: Orbital is developing technology to provide energy for on-orbit servicing, assembly and manufacturing with the support of two recent Small Business Innovation Research awards. Under a $75,000 U.S. Air Force contract announced
Read More
Hunga Tonga Volkan Patlamasının Yarattığı Devasa Şok Dalgası, Tüm Dünya Atmosferini Etkiledi [Video] thumbnail

Hunga Tonga Volkan Patlamasının Yarattığı Devasa Şok Dalgası, Tüm Dünya Atmosferini Etkiledi [Video]

Geçtiğimiz günlerde Hunga Tonga isimli ıssız volkanik adada yaşanan patlama sonrası çevre ülkelerde tsunami uyarısı verildi, iletişim kesildi, kilometrelerce mesafede her yeri kül kapladı. Ancak yalnızca uzaydan gözlemleyebildiğimiz bir görüntü, ortaya patlamanın bambaşka bir etkisini koydu. Geçtiğimiz günlerde Güney Pasifik'te bulunan bir ada ülkesi olan Tonga'nın volkanik adalarından birinde devasa bir patlama meydana geldi. Patlama…
Read More
Remote housing in the NT is overcrowded and rundown. This 'historic' investment is planning to change that thumbnail

Remote housing in the NT is overcrowded and rundown. This ‘historic’ investment is planning to change that

A historic multi-billion-dollar housing investment is set to address First Nations people that are living in overcrowded, inadequate and unsafe homes in the Northern Territory.Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced the $4 billion, jointly funded by the federal and territory governments, during a visit to the community of Binjari, near Katherine on Tuesday.The federal government is
Read More
Charles expresses 'great joy' at being back in Australia, this time as King thumbnail

Charles expresses ‘great joy’ at being back in Australia, this time as King

Key PointsKing Charles is on a nine-day visit to Australia and Samoa, the first major foreign tour since he was crowned.His first official public appearance was a Sunday morning service at St Thomas' Anglican Church in Sydney.Protesters also gathered outside the church, holding banners that read "Empire Built on Genocide" and "Decolonise".King Charles' antipodean admirers
Read More
Hersteller gibt bionisches Auge auf, Nutzer erblinden erneut thumbnail

Hersteller gibt bionisches Auge auf, Nutzer erblinden erneut

© Second Sight Digital Life 16.02.2022 Das Unternehmen Second Sight bietet Patienten keine Unterstützung mehr an. Die Implantate werden dadurch nutzlos. Einige Menschen erleben die traumatische Erfahrung blind zu werden ein zweites Mal. Wie IEEE Spectrum berichtet, handelt es sich dabei um Patient*innen, die mit einem bionischen Auge ausgestattet wurden. In einem Gespräch mit IEEE…
Read More
Index Of News
Total
0
Share