The acting prime minister, Richard Marles, says the government decided not to add questions on sexuality to the 2026 census to avoid “divisive” community debates.
Marles said the government had opted to take the existing set of questions to the next census rather than adding five new topics – including sexuality – as had been proposed, out of concern for social cohesion.
“We are doing that because we do not want to open up divisive debates in the community now,” Marles told journalists on Wednesday.
His comments came as the treasurer, Jim Chalmers, continued to accuse Peter Dutton of divisiveness, describing it as the opposition leader’s “defining and disqualifying characteristic”.
“He’s too divisive to be the prime minister of this country and I don’t regret for one second pointing that out to people,” Chalmers told Sky News on Wednesday. He accused Dutton of “picking needless and unnecessary fights on national security” to avoid focusing on the economy.
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In a speech on Monday night, Chalmers had described Dutton as the most divisive Australian leader of modern times, comments the opposition leader dismissed as attention-seeking and suggestive of Labor leadership jostling.
The Greens leader, Adam Bandt, accused Labor of hypocrisy for its criticisms of Dutton, arguing the government had let down the LGBTQ+ community by promising anti-discrimination reforms but shelving them, citing a lack of bipartisan support.
“On the one hand Labor says he’s the most divisive person ever and on the other hand they’re saying, ‘we’re not going to legislate unless Peter Dutton gives it the tick’,” Bandt told the National Press Club on Wednesday.
“You cannot believe a single thing Labor takes to the election because it now has an asterisk next to it. Every election policy from Labor will only be implemented if Peter Dutton agrees.”
Marles’ comments on fears of divisiveness in relation to the census are the first ministerial attempt to explain the government’s unexpected decision to omit sexuality and the other proposed new topics since it became public on Monday.
Until this week, the government had been expected to add questions on whether respondents had changed living locations in the previous 12 months and why, plus questions on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultural identity, gender – including variations of sex characteristics – and sexual orientation.
The extra topics were the result of community consultations last year and were set to be part of a test program ahead of a final government decision. But the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) confirmed this week it received notice on Friday last week the extra topics would not be included.
Marles was asked on Wednesday how information on sexuality could be divisive.
“We’ve seen how divisive debates have played out across our country and the last thing we want to do is inflict that debate on a sector of our community right now,” he said. “That’s why we are taking, in broad terms, the set of questions that went to the last census.”
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Marles denied omitting the questions could undermine the accuracy of data that informs the allocation of funding and provision of services, including in health.
“We are bringing science to bear here in terms of how best to gather data,” he said. “And we’re confident that in taking forward the questions which went to the last census to the next, that is the best way which we get the most accurate picture across the board of the Australian society.”
Marles also rejected suggestions the decision was politically driven.
“We want the census to be gathering as much useful data for our country as possible.”
The government’s rejection of the proposed extra census questions blindsided LGBTQ+ advocacy groups and has prompted petitions to government and protest letters, including from members of the crossbench.
In a letter this week to the assistant minister to the treasury, Andrew Leigh, the independent MP for Wentworth, Allegra Spender, said she was “appalled” at the decision, which follows a statement the ABS issued a year ago expressing regret over the LGBTQ+ community’s distress at being left out of the 2021 census.
Spender’s electorate covers Oxford Street in inner-city Sydney, home of the annual Gay and Lesbian Mardis Gras.
The ABS chief statistician, David Gruen, issued a statement on Monday confirming that the planned testing program for the new topics – ahead of the finalisation of questions – would now not proceed.