By Paul Sakkal and Kat Wong
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese should be banned from Mardi Gras, a top LGBTQ campaigner has argued, after his government opted not to record the number of gay and trans people in the next census.
Three Labor MPs told this masthead they were upset by the decision, which contradicts federal Labor’s policy platform, which commits to ensuring the 2026 survey would ask new questions to capture the true number of sexually and gender diverse Australians.
Anthony Albanese last year became the first sitting prime minister to march in the annual Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras parade.Credit: Nikki Short
The Australian Bureau of Statistics had considered including topics on gender, sexual orientation and variations of sex characteristics in the 2026 census after a complaint was made to the Australian Human Rights Commission.
On Monday, the bureau’s chief statistician, David Gruen, confirmed plans to test the new topics had since been scrapped.
About one in 10 Australians are estimated to be lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and gender diverse, according to a 2019 report from the Department of Health.
Prominent activist Rodney Croome said Albanese, the first sitting prime minister to march in Sydney’s Mardi Gras parade in 2023, should not be invited to future parades.
“He may have marched across the Sydney Harbour Bridge for WorldPride last year, but in the eyes of many LGBTIQA+ Australians he has now pulled up the draw bridge to equality,” said Croome, a spokesman for Just.Equal.
Two Labor MPs, who did not want to be named so they could speak their mind, said the government shied away from the change partly to avoid a possible backlash from the Coalition and faith groups. Changing the census questions would have required a Senate vote.
This is the second time MPs have privately criticised Labor leadership for avoiding an argument on a contentious social policy in recent weeks, following the government’s decision to not ban all gambling ads.
One MP suggested the decision may also have been prompted by worries about undercounting the LGBTQ community because many sexually diverse people do not share their sexuality publicly.
A government source said it was not a question of avoiding a fear campaign, but rather a decision made to emphasise that the government was “razor-focused” on bringing down the cost of living rather than spending time talking about non-core issues, even if they are important to certain community groups.
Gay rights campaigner Rodney Croome (right) in parliament in 2017 with MP Andrew Wilkie.Credit: Dominic Lorrimer
The source also said officials were worried that making the census more complicated could compromise the quality of the survey, and noted that other questions unrelated to gender or sex were also being ruled out for the 2026.
Assistant Minister Andrew Leigh on Sunday said the government had decided to rule out the introduction of new census topics.
Equality Australia chief executive Anna Brown says the government’s refusal to update the census feels like a betrayal to the LGBTQ community.
“The federal government has betrayed LGBTIQ+ people around Australia who will again be rendered invisible in 2026,” she said.
“[It] hasn’t taken this opportunity to finally reflect the diversity of Australia and gather crucial information about the kinds of services people need,” she said.
April Long, who launched the Australian Human Rights Commission complaint in 2022, said the outcome was devastating.
“This isn’t just about numbers or data, it’s about our basic human right to be counted, recognised and valued,” they said.
Greens LGBTQ spokesman Stephen Bates accused the government of back-pedalling on its promises to the community.
With AAP
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correction
Assistant Minister Andrew Leigh announced the government’s census decision on Sunday, not Friday as originally reported.