Scratching the stats

August 11, 2026 — 9:00pm“I completed the census (C8) but don’t understand why there wasn’t a question about ‘fur babies’,” writes Natasha Lee of Alexandria. “Many of us consider our pets to be an important part of the family. The presence of pets paints a more detailed picture of our households, so why are they excluded?”Here’s hoping Alan Phillips of Mosman doesn’t commit a capital offence: “My wife and I had planned to be in Canberra this week for some walking, cycling and galleries. Checking the weather predictions — freezing temperatures and rain — made us decide to postpone. But shock horror! We’d already filled in our census online which said we would be there. We were now stuck with it or risk possible arrest and imprisonment for lying to the Commonwealth.” Sticking with the statist