‘Other' tick box leaves a hole in Census answers

'Especially at this troubled point in our national history, it would have been valuable for the census to have included an extra tick-box to record the presence and lives of Jews in Australia,' writes political columnist ROBERT McMAHON. I recently received an Amazon package. On its reverse was an ad for the now passed Australian Census. Clever social marketing, I thought, reminding people of their lawful responsibility to complete the Census as they receive their socks and books. As well, the ABS, which administers the Census, goes to such lengths to remind us to complete it. The Census is an immensely important document, an aged longitudinal record of national population demographics of which Australia can be very proud. Originating long before federation, Australians were counted as part of colonial musters in the late 1700s, with the first administrative process in NSW in 1828. Post federation, the first national census occurred in 1911. Since then, every 10 or so years, and then from 1961 onwards every five years, censuses have asked us who we are, where we live and with whom, and how we live and work. In essence, the Census is a national count of our broad and rich population composition, needed by governments to develop and deliver policy, and plan for the future. Which is why the Census contains so many questions which make it feel a bit laborious. But, given the document's importance to national planning and historic records, its completion is part of Australians' civic duty. Our duty to stand up and be counted. As our society evolves, so too do Census questions to capture it. In the recent Census, for the first time, Australians were asked questions about their sexuality and gender. The ABS has explained these questions as necessary to provide for better health and social services for Australia's increasingly diverse community. While perhaps making for some potentially awkward kitchen-table discussions, that makes sense. But there was another aspect of the Census, especially in the current environment, that caused me to reflect. Australians were asked questions about their chosen religion and provided detailed options for faith (or none): 11 options in total – with option 11 being 'Other (specify)'. Among the 11 options, Judaism was not specified as an option but respondents could specify it in the free-text option 11, 'Other'. Other. The same option that has allowed respondents to record their religion as witchcraft, Satanism and Druidism. Oh, and Jedi Knight. Other, indeed. Judaism is one of the oldest religions of the free world: as much a philosophical bedrock of thought and values, as of religious practice. Fundamental to Australia's originating faith traditions, its values are subtly reflected in our democratic principles and the rule of law. And yet, despite this cultural history, the ABS justified its omission on the basis that it had not featured in previous censuses. Well, using that stasis line of thought, neither would the ABS now be asking Australians to answer questions about our sexuality and gender – because they were not asked previously, either. Especially at this troubled point in our national history, it would have been valuable for the ABS to have included an extra tick-box to record the presence and lives of Jews in Australia. Since the attacks on Israel in October 2023 and subsequent military action in Gaza, the world has seen a marked increase in antisemitism. Australia has not been immune to this, with shameful antisemitic protests at the Opera House on the night of the attack and frequent protests since. Worse, of course, was to come. During a Hanukkah celebration at Bondi Beach on December 14, 15 innocent Australians – some of them children – were murdered in an antisemitic terrorist attack. Many more were maimed or injured. The subsequent Royal Commission into Antisemitism and Social Cohesion has since heard harrowing evidence of the experience of Australian Jews – our fellow Australians – as they have gone about their ordinary lives. And it is for this social realpolitik that the ABS erred, very seriously, in not extending Jews their own tick-box in this year's Census. Because being counted is not merely an exercise in number crunching: to be 'other' is, by definition, to be less visible, less seen. The issue is not, therefore, about whether there are enough Australian Jews to justify a separate statistical category, it is whether the ABS chose to distinctly see them – and to show they wanted to do so. In not providing Jews with their own tick-box, the ABS missed an opportunity to not only accurately count Jewish Australians, but to respect them. In 'othering' Australian Jews in our national count, the ABS itself failed to do what it asks of us – to stand up and be counted. Dr Robert McMahon PSM is a visiting fellow at the Australian National University, adjunct professor at the University of Canberra, and former assistant secretary of the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. News all day, every day at CityNews.com.au.