well as a simple proposition sexual orientation and gender identity are reasonable questions to ask in a modern society has become awfully complicated some of the questions that were forwarded uh were in the government's view uh that were going to be tested uh weren't appropriate uh to be tested the Albanese government quietly pulled the lgbtqi census questions this time last week an attempt to avoid what it said could be a divisive debate now it says the questions set to be asked weren't appropriate we want simple questions that people can understand and answer the ABC asked to see the draft questions but weren't provided them the government appears to be like the dog that caught the car the back and forth has provided fertile ground for Labour's opponents to prosecute their own argument labor takes people for granted green leader Adam B is on the offensive launching a new candidate in the marginal Brisbane seat of Morton where labor MP grah Perot is standing down with this many people here this is enough people to win a SE the drawn out episode over census questions has shown the government could be too willing to jump at shadows in this case an imaginary divisive debate was enough for it to abandon its commitment to the lgbtqi plus community and leave the public confused its attempts to clarify its stance could be accepted but after holding so many positions in just one week it may have lost the trust of some key voters with a federal election looming Oliver Gordon ABC News camra