Complaints about the census being too invasive clashed with online defences of the national count as Australians headed into census night last night, with one protest post drawing both ridicule and support.<\/p>\n
A Facebook post shared by the page Educate for Protection showed a census envelope covered in handwritten messages including \u201cRTS\u201d, \u201cNo kings, No constitution, No Governor-General, No Prime Minister\u201d, alongside the caption: \u201cThe Sense-Less Census reply\u201d.<\/p>\n
It quickly drew a flood of responses, with many commenters mocking the protest.<\/p>\n
\u201cCookers posting their lives on Facebook but are against statistics due to privacy concerns,\u201d one person wrote.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe tin foil hat brigade are out in force,\u201d another said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat showed them hey,\u201d a third added.<\/p>\n
Others, however, backed the sentiment.<\/p>\n
\u201cI threw mine out instead and saved the ink,\u201d one said.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy dog ate it\u201d another wrote.<\/p>\n
The online flare-up came as Australians were required to complete the census on Tuesday night, the once-every-five-years national count run by the Australian Bureau of Statistics to build a snapshot of the country.<\/p>\n
Every household in Australia must take part, with this year\u2019s form asking 66 questions covering details such as address, household members, cultural background, education, income, work and how people travel to their jobs.<\/p>\n
The requirement also extends beyond citizens. Anyone in Australia on census night, including tourists and people on temporary visas, must be counted.<\/p>\n
One woman posted a photo of her computer screen showing feedback she said she submitted after completing the form, describing the census as \u201ctoo invasive and politically correct\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe census writers would prefer to know how many cars and bedrooms a property has on census night instead of how Australians are actually coping and what services they actually need,\u201d she wrote.<\/p>\n
Another Facebook page, Mouths of Mums, also asked followers whether they thought the census questions were \u201ca bit too invasive\u201d.<\/p>\n
Many agreed, while others said the questions were much the same as in past censuses.<\/p>\n
One woman, who said she had worked for the state demographer\u2019s office, defended the survey and said census data was public and \u201cextremely valuable\u201d for planners and demographers.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnalysing trends in the data is fascinating and leads to all sorts of really relevant decisions including where to build new schools and hospitals and planning for future public transport corridors,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think they should be asking way more questions. It\u2019s such a great opportunity to collect fantastic data that really helps us to get a snapshot of Australia every five years and identify trends and patterns that we either need to plan ahead for, or if they are negative patterns, introduce policies to mitigate them early.\u201d<\/p>\n
Other complaints centred on the religion question, with some pointing out there were specific Christian denominations listed but not \u201cChristian\u201d as a standalone option.<\/p>\n
\u201cAbsolutely outrageous that you cannot select Christian in a census for a historically and structurally Christian country,\u201d one man wrote on Facebook.<\/p>\n
Others said they would write in Christian in the \u201cother\u201d box.<\/p>\n
The reaction online also tapped into a broader distrust around government data collection.<\/p>\n
For those who ignored the form, the penalties can be steep. <\/p>\n
The ABS can issue another notice directing someone to complete the census and, if they still fail to comply, they can be fined up to $364 for each day it remains incomplete.<\/p>\n
Providing false information is also an offence and can carry a fine of up to $3640.<\/p>\n