The Albanese authorities made a last-minute rejection to proposed questions on sexuality and gender range within the upcoming 2026 census, sending bureaucrats right into a weekend scramble, new paperwork present.
Within the late hours of Friday 23 August and Saturday 24 August, officers on the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) agreed to cancel a scheduled media briefing on Monday 26 August and the rollout of its “large-scale” check census to 50,000 households from Tuesday 27 August because of the Eleventh-hour choice.
Paperwork launched to Guardian Australia in a freedom of data request present how the impartial statistics company scrambled to ditch its plans inside a weekend after a delayed remaining choice by authorities.
The shock choice was made public on the Sunday following a Sky Information report, prompting sturdy criticism from the LGBTQ+ group and well being and demography specialists.
Shortly after reviews, the assistant minister, Andrew Leigh, who’s accountable for the census, confirmed there can be no modifications to the 2026 census.
Regardless of senior ministers initially defending the choice as essential to keep away from “divisive” debates and to give attention to the price of residing disaster, the federal government agreed to reintroduce two questions on sexual orientation and gender id a fortnight later.
The paperwork present ABS workers despatched two emails to media who had registered to attend the Monday briefing confirming it was going forward. One other e-mail despatched by an ABS worker to the assistant minister’s workplace on Friday at 5.06pm outlined the communications plan for the next week.
The textual content of the media alert was additionally forwarded at 6.02pm on Friday 23 August by an official – whose id was redacted – to a different official – additionally redacted.
On Saturday afternoon, a gathering was held with greater than 10 ABS workers to cancel the deliberate media briefing on Monday and census check rollout from Tuesday. Employees agreed to destroy the census varieties and directions to 50,000 households and spiked scheduled social media and radio promotions.
It comes after a trove of paperwork was tabled within the Senate in September, revealing Leigh accredited the brand new census questions in mid-July solely to verbally reverse the choice on 13 August – a transfer reportedly resulting from an overruling by the prime minister, Anthony Albanese.
In a ministerial transient handed to Leigh’s workplace by the ABS, the assistant minister verbally knowledgeable the chief statistician, David Gruen, on 13 August of his change in choice. The transient was signed off by Leigh on Friday 23 August – two days after it was resulting from be actioned.
after publication promotion
In 2023, the ABS issued a press release of remorse over the misery felt by the LGBTQ+ group over being overlooked of censuses, acknowledging a scarcity of questions on gender id, sexual traits or orientation “meant that they felt invisible and excluded”.
The ABS had warned Leigh in a submission on 16 August there was a threat that dropping the proposed new questions “will mean those feelings are repeated for the 2026 census”.
“There is a risk to the successful delivery of the census if there is public criticism and campaigning while the census is under way,” the submission mentioned.
“The ABS expects a strong negative reaction from the LGBTIQ+ community and supportive members of the public. This could reduce the census response rate and quality of the data collected, and draw criticism of the ABS and government.”
An Albanese authorities spokesperson instructed Guardian Australia final month “the government sets census topics”.
“The ABS came to the government with potential changes it planned to trial, including changes it had not recommended for the 2026 census. The government paused the process to get it right,” the spokesperson mentioned.
“Assistant minister Leigh advised on 8 September the government would set a new topic of ‘sexual orientation and gender’ for the 2026 census.”
