Australia to Include SO and exclude GI Questions from 2026 Census

Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) House Image Courtesy: Bidgee, Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported | Wikimedia Commons

In lightening fast flip-flops the Australian Federal government went from apologizing for not including the LGBTQI community, to dropping all questions about Sexual Orientation (SO) and Gender identity (GI), to omitting questions about the transgender community from the upcoming 2026 Census.

On August 25, Lucy Martinez, an Australian blogger, wrote on Substack, "The Australian federal government has decided not to include questions on gender identity, sexual orientation, and variations of sex characteristics in the 2026 Census. This decision follows ABS releasing a rare statement of regret in 2023 for excluding non-binary and other LGBTQI+ individuals from being properly counted in the 2021 Census and collaborating with the community to enhance inclusion in future Censuses.

"This is all despite the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) recognizing the increasing need for accurate data representing transgender individuals in Australia. However, today’s decision by the federal government will render those efforts futile."

Just a day after his ministers explained the census change had been scrapped to avoid a "divisive debate", Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced Friday that a question about sexuality would in fact be included in the 2026 survey.

Read more at Transcend Australia.

When questioned about these changes on Friday Prime Minister Albanese told ABC that it was the first time that he had been asked about it and that it was "common sense" to exclude transgender people from the 2026 census and include a new, single question about sexual orientation.

The editor's opinion from learned experience:

Excluding transgender people from the census is paramount to disappearing the gender-diverse community. Transgender people are fighting off attacks daily sometimes dying from a lack of basic human rights. The core reason for this inhumanity is a government's denial that we exist.

It's not "common sense" to cave to TERFs, and Hate Groups, it is androcide, it is femicide, it is gendercide.

As a leader of a major Western country with influence way past your borders, Prime Minister, the world expects that at a bare minimum acknowledge that trans people exist and live in Australia.

Kamala Harris Promise to End Rent Price Fixing is Winning Voters Over

Photo / AP Susan Walsh

Kamala Harris is surging ahead in the polls in crucial demographics after promising to take on corporate Rent Price Fixing and ending taxes on tips.

Her promise to end rent price fixing is especially credible since the DOJ under US Attorney General Merrick Garland is currently suing Realpage, the website that fueled the latest rent increases.

Democrat Kamala Harris has surged ahead of Republican Donald Trump, 48%-43%, in a new USA TODAY/Suffolk University Poll found.

The vice president's small lead was fueled by big shifts among some key demographic groups traditionally crucial for Democrats, including Hispanic and Black voters and young people, USA Today Reported. Among those with annual incomes of less than $20,000, in the biggest change, a three-point Trump edge over Biden in June has become a 23-point Harris advantage over Trump in August.

Mine is but one story but it may be representative of many lower-income people, especially minorities.

The representative of the corporation that manages my apartment complex asked if I had heard of the "rent website" meaning Realpage when I questioned the one hundred dollar rent increase last year. Her answer was "well, everybody is doing it".

As much as I didn't like it I couldn't move as nearby rents had similarly skyrocketed. This year I found rents hundreds of dollars less during a search of my area, but it didn't make sense to move within Texas because of Paxton's unrelenting war on Trans rights.

So much to the corporate representative delight I decided to forgo fleeing to a state with trans rights protected by law and extended my stay to 13 years by signing another lease. I knew it was price fixing but last year's rent increase had drained my bank account and left me able to save enough to move out of Texas.

Unmentioned is the broader economic impact. The car dealership where I have bought my last two new vehicles desperately wants my car as a trade-in for a new car. It seems too few people are trading in for new cars leaving dealerships with empty lots.

Apparently, I along with many others would gladly trade our cars in especially given the very generous terms offered, but I can't for all of the reasons above.

While the poll is indeed good news proving people are paying attention we know what happens when we lift our foot off the accelerator. 

#Understandtheassignment Visit KamalaHarris.com and click the volunteer tab to see how you can help in your locality and nationaly.

And lastly, Vote as if your country would be destroyed if you didn't because surely it will.