Backbencher Josh Burns has broken Labor ranks over the exclusion of questions on LGBTQ Australians in the 2026 census, calling on the government to reverse its decision not to ask about sexuality and gender.

The Labor MP, who holds the seat of Macnamara that takes in Melbourne suburbs such as St Kilda and Elwood, revealed he had been speaking out internally against the decision not to add new questions to the five-yearly national snapshot, saying the queer community “deserve to be counted”.