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Ethnicity in the census

  • 15 Oct 2025 5:58 PM
    Reply # 13552428 on 13551004

    I am not sure what controverial point you are trying to make Duncan. I asked Copilot the difference between ethnicity and ancestry and got the following:

    Ethnicity

    • Definition: Ethnicity refers to a group of people who identify with each other based on shared cultural traits such as language, religion, traditions, customs, and sometimes national origin.
    • Examples: Han Chinese, Māori, Ashkenazi Jewish, Somali, Irish.
    • Key Features:
      • Often self-identified.
      • Can include shared history or cultural practices.
      • May be tied to geographic regions but not always.

    Ancestry

    • Definition: Ancestry refers to your genetic lineage or the people from whom you are descended. It’s about biological heritage and family history.
    • Examples: Having ancestors from Italy, Nigeria, or Indigenous Australia.
    • Key Features:
      • Based on genealogy and DNA.
      • Can be traced through family trees or genetic testing.
      • Doesn’t necessarily reflect cultural identity.

    According to this, you can report your own ethnicity. The descendant of a gold rush Chinese person might just put Australian. I am not really sure what the point of the data would be. As for ancestry, we can easily track source countries of migration over time and there is no need to ask on the census form. 

    Naomi Priest's argument appears to be nonsense, at least if it is an argument for putting it in the census. Counting different races on the census is not going to allow us to monitor disparate outomes for difference races. Collecting it at health centres is a matter for state health policy and I think it is already done. 

    I have known David Gruen for over 60 years (yes, since I was a little kid) and I could potentially ask him why they took this decision. But it seems that they thought the data would be unreliable. And the ABC article finishes by pointing out that the census may be coming close to its useful life. I am not sure I agree without more information. Could we really collect fully complete imformation any other way?

  • 10 Oct 2025 9:07 PM
    Message # 13551004

    Hi all

    I know this is ancient news already but the forum seems very quiet - and I honestly only heard this news recently

    https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-04-25/abs-census-ethnicity-ancestry-australia-population-data/103638672

    "Most notably, the testing showed that the public is unlikely to have a consistent understanding of what ethnic identity is, or the difference between ethnic identity and ancestry. The ABS determined that due to these complexities, collecting both ethnic identity and ancestry on the same form is not feasible for the 2026 Census,"

    Any thoughts. I am not going to comment on other Census related issues with raised eyebrows. I have some very strong views about what is going on in this world. Too strong for this forum I imagine. I will say no more. I am sure a few may be able to read between the lines. But seriously. Any life out there. And what kind of life is it? And I hate to bring data and statistics and research into the issue too. Science, history, identity. Seriously. But apparently other parts of our lives are more important. I have a radical idea. Go back to household, family, name, age, relationship and occupation. And whatever MF means. Sorry place of birth. Try to track down people's history is fun. Where did great uncle Fred say he was born? And maybe I do need to spell it out for some but in all my years studying family history the MF column was irrelevant except as some arbitrary signifier

    D

    PS I am trying to engage in controversy. Life can be quite dull sometimes

    Last modified: 10 Oct 2025 11:01 PM | Duncan Lowes
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