Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is facing the threat of being uninvited to the Sydney Mardi Gras and LGBTIQ+ people potentially boycotting the census over not honouring a commitment to allow them to declare their sexual orientation, gender identity and intersex characteristics in the 2026 national survey.
The federal government revealed on Sunday that it had opted not to include LGBTIQ+ questions in the upcoming 2026 census, backtracking on its 2023 Australian Labor Party “national platform“.
In the platform – which outlines Labor’s beliefs, values and program for government – the party committed to including LGBTIQ+ Australians in the consultation and planning process for the 2026 census to ensure that it gathered relevant data on LGBTIQ+ Australians.
The policy platform states:
“Labor believes that LGBTIQ+ Australians should be counted as part of the national
census. As part of the next census, Labor will commit to:
a. include LGBTIQ+ Australians in the consultation and planning process for the
2026 Census;
b. ensure that the 2026 Census gathers relevant data on LGBTIQ+ Australians; and
c. discontinue the practice of randomly assigning non-binary people and intersex
people as male or female.”
But without an initial explanation and in the lead-up to an election year, the government announced on Sunday that LGBTIQ+ questions would not be included. The decision was first reported by Sky News before Assistant Minister Andrew Leigh confirmed it in a statement when approached by other media outlets.
Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles said the decision was made to avoid a divisive debate
“…The last thing we want to do is inflict that debate on a sector of our community right now,” he told journalists on Wednesday.
“We’re bringing science to bear here in terms of how best to gather data.”
NSW MP for Sydney Alex Greenwich said that the PM “could expect LGBTQ people and our families not to participate in the next census” if their characteristics aren’t included.
Allegra Spender, the federal MP for Wentworth, said, “The government’s decision just doesn’t make sense”.
“I am calling for this decision to be overturned before the next Census,” she said, adding that she was supporting LGBTIQ+ advocacy group Equality Australia’s petition to reverse the decision.
Rainbow Labor NSW, a key LGBTIQ+ group within the political party, released a statement on Monday that said all LGBTIQ+ should be included in the census. “Without being included in the Census data our community remains invisible in the eyes of the nation,” it said.
“Every delay denies our community the right to [be] seen, be heard and to be helped.”
One of the people behind that statement was Zann Maxwell, the Labor candidate looking to unseat Clover Moore as the City of Sydney’s mayor in the September 14 local council elections.
“The party’s policy is clear – the government should implement it,” Maxwell said.
The Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras organisation, which puts on the annual Mardi Gras festival and parade, said it was deeply concerned and disappointed by Labor’s census decision.
“This exclusion denies the LGBTIQ+ community the recognition it deserves as valued members of the wider community and impedes our ability to address critical needs,” it said.
“Without comprehensive and inclusive data, the full diversity of our community remains invisible and marginalised, hindering efforts to tackle the specific challenges faced by LGBTQIA+ people in Australia.”
Activist group Pride in Protest’s Rohen Snowball, who uses they/them pronouns, said Labor’s decision denied the queer community’s existence, adding that Labor was delaying equality with its census U-turn.
Snowball argued Labor had done the same by shelving its federal religious discrimination legislation.
Labor has said it won’t table its religious discrimination legislation – which, among other protections, would prevent teachers and students from being fired from religious schools for being queer – unless it had bipartisan support from the Coalition. This is despite the Greens and other crossbench MPs indicating they would work with the government on the bill.
Rodney Croome of the LGBTIQ+ advocacy group Just.Equal Australia said until the census decision is reversed, Albanese should not be included in the Sydney Mardi Gras parade.
“Mr Albanese 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,” Croome said.
Snowball agreed, noting that at the last Mardi Gras annual general meeting Pride In Protest successfully passed a motion to uninvite NSW Labor from Mardi Gras unless they passed the Equality Bill currently before state parliament.
The bill – introduced into state parliament by Sydney MP Alex Greenwich in August last year – aims to protect LGBTIQ+ school staff and students from discrimination, ensure trans and gender diverse people can access ID that matches their identity, and better recognises queer families.
The bill was slated for debate earlier this month. However, it was pushed back by Labor and its lapsing date was moved to October 31.
“Bigoted politicians should be out [of Mardi Gras] regardless of the party and we will consider something around uninviting Albanese,” Snowball said. “Hopefully come next Mardi Gras we won’t see Labor involved.”
Equality Australia CEO Anna Brown said the LGBTIQ+ community was dismayed by the Equality Bill’s delay.
“Every day we delay these reforms more harm is being done,” she said in early August.
In 2023, the Australian Bureau of Statistics issued a statement of regret apologising for the exclusion of non-binary people from being counted as parents in the 2021 census.
The ABS committed to more inclusive future censuses, including the establishment of an LGBTIQA+ expert advisory committee to guide the inclusion of appropriate questions in the 2026 census.
Editor’s note: Journalists Eliot Hastie and Ben Grubb pay a $50 annual Mardi Gras membership for discount purposes only.
Gay Sydney News reporter
Gay Sydney News editor