By Jake Evans, ABC News
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese. Photo: RNZ / Angus Dreaver
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says a new question on sexuality will be tested for the next census, overturning a decision earlier this week not to add a question to include LGBT Australians in the national survey.
Albanese told ABC Radio Melbourne it was a "commonsense position" to put a question.
"We've been talking with the Australian Bureau of Statistics and they are going to test for a new question, one on sexuality," he said.
"There will [be a question] as long as the testing goes well."
Treasurer Jim Chalmers yesterday said the government did not want to add a question out of fear it would become "divisive".
The decision prompted an internal Labor revolt, including criticism from assistant minister Ged Kearney.
Six Labor MPs spoke out against the decision to the ABC, saying including a question told the LGBT community "you count and you matter", and not doing so could be a human rights issue.
Albanese avoided characterising the decision as a backflip, saying while several of his ministers had confirmed a question would not be added, he had not yet been asked about it.
The prime minister was until today overseas attending the Pacific Islands Forum.
Sex Discrimination Commissioner Anna Cody said this morning the decision to omit a question out of concern for "harmful" debate was "patronising and paternalistic".
A number of Coalition MPs also expressed their surprise at the move, saying they had no problem with it.
However when asked yesterday, Dutton suggested the issue reflected a "woke agenda" and the existing census questions were working well.
Equality Australia welcomed the reversal, but said the prime minister's comments left it unclear whether the census would include people who were trans or gender diverse, or people with innate variations of sex characteristics.
"It would be a shame if the government doesn't trust the Australian public enough to accept that the census needs to gather basic data about our nation for it be meaningful and useful," Equality Australia CEO Anna Brown said.
"Including LGBTIQ+ people in the census simply brings Australia into line with countries like the United Kingdom, Canada, Scotland and New Zealand that already count our communities."
- ABC
