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We all know LGBTQI people don’t count to the Coalition but now it seems they don’t count to Labor either. In a reversal of Labor policy, the Australian Bureau of Statistics will not include questions of sexuality or gender identity in the census (“ Call for PM to be banned from Mardi Gras over census ‘betrayal’ ”, 27/8). This capitulation to the religious right is a betrayal of Labor values most recently outlined by Treasurer Jim Chalmers in his John Curtin oration as “compassion, foresight and vision” (“ Dutton seeks only to divide us: Chalmers ”, 27/8).
The specific needs of LGBTQI people can be met only when we know how many there are and where they live. By not identifying this, they will continue to be discriminated against because if the government doesn’t want to acknowledge their existence, then why should those who already question their legitimacy? Samantha Keir, East Brighton There is nothing to fear It wasn’t until 1967 that our First Nations people were finally included in official population counts for constitutional purposes. How long will the LGBTQIA+ community have to wait before they can be included in the census for 2026? Why does this so-called “inclusive” government persist in keeping them stat.