Media Release

Saturday November 16^th 2024

 

TAS GOV TAKES STAND ON CENSUS  

 

The Tasmanian Government has taken a stand in support of full LGBTIQA+ inclusion in the Census.

 

Tasmanian Minister for Community Services, Roger Jaensch, has written to the minister responsible for the Census, Andrew Leigh, highlighting Tasmania’s progress toward implementing all Australian Bureau of Statstics (ABS) standards for LGBTIQA+ data gathering, reinforcing the need for equivalent national LGBTIQA+ data and urging Leigh to listen to community concerns about the Census questions as they are currently posed.

 

Equality Tasmania spokesperson, Rodney Croome, welcomed the letter saying,

 

“Tasmania has gone further than any other state in implementing the ABS guidelines on gathering data on LGBTIQA+ people.”

 

“We welcome the letter from Mr Jaensch because it contrasts Tasmania’s progress to the inadequate approach taken by the Federal Government.”

 

“The Tasmanian Government is effectively saying ‘if Tasmania can do it so can you, so get your act together’.”

 

"I urge other state governments that haven't yet spoken out to follow Tasmania's lead."

 

In September Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese, sparked a backlash when he decided not to count LGBTIQA+ people in the Census.

 

He subsequently backtracked but still failed to allow the Census to count transgender people under 16, or people with innate variations of sex characteristics.

 

Mr Jaensch wrote that the Tasmanian Government is committed to implementing all the ABS’s data-gathering standards on sexual orientation, gender identity and sex characteristics.

 

He noted,

 

“Ideally, collection of Tasmanian data on sexual orientation, gender identity and sex characteristics should have corresponding national data for Tasmanian Government agencies, social services and businesses to access and compare against.”

 

He then went on to encourage the Federal Government to listen to LGBTIQA+ community concerns about its failure to count trans people under 16 and its failure to count people with innate variations of sex characteristics.

 

A copy of the letter is attached.

 

For this statement on the web, click here