Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard Hosts Gay Couples at Dinner

In June last year, the activist group GetUp! paid 31,000 Australian dollars ($33,270) for a dinner with Prime Minister Julia Gillard after winning a bidding war against a Christian lobby group at the Press Gallery of Australia annual charity ball.

The group's intention was to send three gay couples to dinner to discuss the need for marriage equality in Australia, and that happened last night.

The AP reports:

Twelve-year-old Matthew Miller presented Gillard with flowers and two letters explaining why he and his brother Dylan, 9, would like their biological mother Sandy Miller to marry their other mother, Louise Bucke.

"Since they're not allowed to get married, they're basically being called not normal and we're not known as a proper family," Matthew told The Associated Press at Parliament House before the dinner, which the boys did not attend.

Along with Miller and Bucke, other guests were Brisbane academic Sharon Dane, 54, who married Elaine Crump, 53, in Canada in a ceremony that is not recognized in Australia.

Steve Russell, 51, and John Dini, 29, decided against marrying overseas because it would carry no weight in Australia. While they could have a civil union recognized under state law in their hometown of Melbourne, they don't regard that as equal to marriage.

Gillard is personally opposed to same-sex marriage. According to the Sydney Morning Herald, she told the couples "she believes laws allowing them to marry in Australia are inevitable."

Australian Labor (Kind Of) Supports Marriage Equality

In Australia this morning (which, to folks in America, was actually early yesterday afternoon), at the Labor Party's tri-annual national conference, the Party officially added marriage equality to its platform. Whether that will make any difference to marriage equality's Australian prospects is debatable.

Labor is Australia's ruling party, just barely, and is headed by an arch Jodie Foster lookalike named Julia Gillard. Gillard's an ardent secularist, but, like several others in her party, she doesn't much care for same-sex marriage. "Opposite"-sex marriage, Gillard believes, has a "special status" that ought to be recognized by the civil apparatus. Speaking to the AP, conference attendee and Australian union leader named Joe de Bruyn explained why he agrees with her:

"This issue is one we should decide with our heads, not on the basis of emotion," said Joe de Bruyn, national secretary of the Shop, Distributive and Allied Employees Association, one of the country's largest unions. "The definition of marriage as set out in the legislation is that it is the union of one man and one woman, voluntarily entered into for life. It has always been that way since the dawn of humanity."

De Bruyn ought to brush up on his history, but no matter: Sentiments like his caused Julia Gillard to propose an amendment to make matters of marriage equality subject to a "conscience vote" -- which is to say, Labor legislators shall be free to vote on issues of marriage equality according to their consciences, and shall not be forced to toe the pro-equality party line. Gillard's amendment passed, as did the platform change, the former rendering the latter all but toothless.

Australian PM Won't Eat With Gay Auction Winners

Australia's Prime Minister, Julia Gillard, doesn't like the idea of gay marriage. Nor is she very fond of awkward dinners.

Too bad for her. In June, the liberal Australian advocacy group GetUp! won an "intimate dinner" with Ms. Gillard at a charity auction. Their bid: $31,000, AUS. Their plan: Send same-sex couples to sup with Ms. Gillard and talk about marriage equality. The result: Ms. Gillard has so far refused to set a date for their meeting.

Watch, AFTER THE JUMP, as Australia's ABC News catches up with Ms. Gillard's jilted would-be dinner companions.

Australian Finance Minister Penny Wong to Have Child with Partner, Stoke Same-Sex Marriage Debate

Australian finance minister Penny Wong and her partner Sophie Allouache are expecting a baby, through in vitro fertilization, Wong said in a statement:

"Like any expecting parents, the prospect of welcoming this child into our lives fills us both with joy," she said. "We are extremely grateful to our IVF service and staff, and to our donor, for giving us the opportunity to raise a child together."

Prime Minister Julia Gillard welcomed the news."I'm very pleased for Penny and her partner Sophie as they look forward to a new baby and the next phase of their lives," she told reporters in Canberra.

The implications for Australia's upcoming debate on marriage equality are obvious:

Senator Wong, one of the most senior ministers in the Gillard Government, is the first openly gay minister in federal politics. She is expected to play a pivotal role in the burgeoning debate over same sex marriage due to be discussed at the ALP's supreme policy making body the National Conference late this year."

Added Gillard, who believes marriage should be between a man and a woman, to reporters: "Clearly there are strong views about same-sex marriage in the community. There are strong views in the political party I lead, and we'll have a debate at national conference about those strongly held views. I've made my views clear."

You may recall that Wong, who was once under fire from the LGBT community for opposing same-sex marriage, came out in full support of it in November 2010.

Watch a report from 10 Australia, AFTER THE JUMP...

Lady Gaga Calls for Marriage Equality in Australia, Hits Clubs: VIDEOS

Lady Gaga, who is in Australia on tour, spoke out for marriage equality in the country in an interview with A Current Affair host Tracy Grimshaw.

Said Gaga: "What I am so against is the way that certain laws send a message that one person is more valuable than another."

Gaga was also asked about Prime Minister Julia Gillard's anti-gay position:

During their chat for A Gaga Affair, Grimshaw asked the pro-gay-marriage singer if she thought Gillard was hypocritical living with her partner in The Lodge but also banning homosexual unions.

Shocked Gaga offered a forceful response.

But the question was clearly playing on the Born this Way star's mind, and she double-checked with Grimshaw once the cameras were off if the PM was in fact gay.

Gaga, who was made an honorary citizen of Sydney, also made some unscheduled club performances, hitting Sydney's ARQ club, and Nevermind in a show hosted by drag queen Courtney Act. Police are having trouble dealing with all the people hitting the clubs hoping to see her.

Watch the interview and nightclub clips, AFTER THE JUMP...

News: Ryan Gosling, HIV, Croatia, Mitt Romney

The couple who shot to instant fame for kissing on the street amidst the chaotic riots in Vancouver earlier this week have come forward.

Ryan Gosling beaming at the premiere for his movie, Drive.

Astronaut Buzz Aldrin files for divorce from his wife of 23 years.

HIV infections reportedly drop in gay and bisexual men in California. Other findings: "The rates of new, positive HIV tests in recent years were highest in men age 18 to 24, a finding that suggests younger men may be more likely to engage in risky behaviors such as unprotected sex, researchers say."

Ryan Murphy is getting hitched.

New sci-fi video game set in the 1950s to include closted gay character.

The music video for "I Wanna Go" by Britney Spears to debut next week.

Study shows that you might just lose a few IQ points if you watch Jersey Shore.

2,000 marched in the 10th Pride parade in Zagreb Croatia today. 700 police protected the participants in order to avoid the type of violence that struck a rally in Split last week.

Gay rights group wins auction; will now confront Australian prime minister Julia Gillard about her anti-gay views during a dinner party.

Watch: Amazing video of a 6.3 quake hitting a hardware store in New Zealand.

"Flying deer" causes blackout in Montana.

Canadians hold kiss-in in their country to support marriage equality in the United States.

Jennifer Lopez could pull an Ellen DeGeneres and make herself a one-season judge on American Idol.

Multi-millionaire Mitt Romney resorts to damage control after telling a group of people who are out of work that he is also unemployed.