Former senator Brian Greig said that Australia's resistance to legalizing gay marriage is preventing much-need skilled workers from immigrating there.

'Our nation's increasing isolation on this matter is impacting recruitment and employment mobility,' wrote Greig in an editorial for Sydney Morning Herald.

The Greens party in Australia are pushing for another vote on same-sex marriage before the general election in September.

Greens MP and deputy leader Adam Bandt is campaigning for his Marriage Equality Amendment Bill to be voted on in the House of Representative on 6 June.

Last September a similar bill was voted down by 98 MPs to 42 in the house.

Australian Opposition Leader Tony Abbott has ruled out a free vote in the Australian Parliament on same-sex marriage before 2016 if he is elected Prime Minister and says that so few of his MPs would vote for it that it would not pass now.

'I don't think anyone should expect that this is necessarily going to come up in the next parliament,' Abbott told Fairfax newspapers.

Tasmania Gay & Lesbian Rights Group are trying to make this Saturday's election for the state's Upper House all about marriage equality.

The gay rights group are anxious to vote-out the Members of the Legislative Council (MLCs) who voted against legalizing same-sex marriage last September.

Voters will choose new MLCs in the electoral divisions of Nelson, Pembroke and Montgomery.

The premier of the Australian state of New South Wales (NSW) has come out in support of same-sex marriage.

'As a Liberal who believes that commitment and family units are one of the best ways in which society is organized, I support the concept of same-sex marriage,' said Barry O'Farrell to Fairfax Media, dismissing the argument that gay marriage would damage traditional marriage as 'utterly ridiculous'.

LGBT rights advocates in the Australian state of Tasmania have welcomed overwhelming support in its Lower House of Parliament for the passage of legislation removing a ban on adoption by same-sex couples, saying it is in the best interests of children.

This afternoon the Tasmanian Lower House voted 18 to 4 to allow same-sex couples to be assessed as potential adoptive parents on the same basis as other couples.

Over 7,500 submissions were made into a New South Wales (NSW) state parliament inquiry into the possibility of legalizing same-sex marriage under state law while the Australian Government refuses to move on the issue.

The number of submissions made was the most ever received by a parliamentary inquiry and was more than three times bigger than the previous record holder.

Australian advocates for marriage equality welcomed the overwhelming support for marriage equality demonstrated by the number of submissions.

Older and sick LGBT people and gay kids at school are set to get a better deal from religious groups, if the Australian Senate gets its way.

A report from the Senate committee examining the new Human Rights and Anti-discrimination Bill recommends that exemptions that allow religious groups to discriminate against individuals when providing services should be removed.

A group of lawmakers from across the political spectrum is giving hope to the campaign for marriage equality in Australia by releasing a draft same-sex marriage bill for the state of New South Wales (NSW) today.

The draft bill will allow same-sex couples in the state to marry and recognize marriages from other countries and states and territories in Australia.

The Australian Christian Lobby has called on opponents of same-sex marriage to lobby Australian Opposition Leader Tony Abbott against allowing a conscience vote for his MPs in a sign that they are not completely confident that moderates within the Liberal Party will not prevail.

Abbott, a conservative Catholic who once studied for the priesthood, is one of the staunchest political voices against same-sex marriage in Australia, yet the Australian Christian Lobby today launched a campaign targeting him on the issue.

The Australian Opposition has fired its first shot in the 2013 election campaign with a policy booklet that fails to mention LGBT people or their issues.

‘Our Plan – Real Solutions for all Australians’ which aims to spell out what the opposition Liberal Party would do if elected to government contains no mention of LGBT people or if the Liberals would do anything to formally recognize their relationships while in office.

‘Our Plan – Real Solutions for all Australians’ contains no mention of the issue of same-sex marriage or civil unions.

A total of 330 MPs have confirmed they will vote in favor of same-sex marriage legislation when it is introduced at Westminster later this year.

In contrast, just 126 Members of Parliament (MPs) have publicly stated that they remain opposed to a change in the law, meaning there is now a clear parliamentary majority for equal marriage.