In what some may view as a surprise, the founding convener of lobby group Australian Marriage Equality (AME) has decided to throw his support behind Greens candidate Chris Harris for next weekend’s by-election for the state seat of Sydney.

SYDNEY: NSW Premier Barry O’Farrell has backed Liberal candidate Shayne Mallard to provide an experienced and respected “voice at the heart of Government” if he is elected as the next MP for the state seat of Sydney at next weekend’s by-election.

SYDNEY: Articles and editorials by controversial conservative columnist Miranda Devine claiming the NSW Government’s pilot Proud Schools program would make it a “thought crime to regard heterosexuality as the norm in human relationships” has prompted criticism from LGBT health groups, equal rights advocates and the Greens.

Senior Liberal MP Kevin Andrews has claimed the legalisation of same-sex marriage could lead to polygamy being recognised by the state while at the same time suggesting the breakdown of marriage is the biggest threat facing the Western world and the government must do more to promote the institution.

The by-election for Sydney remains too tight to predict with a poll released this week showing there remains not a hairbreadth between Liberal Party candidate Shayne Mallard and independent Alex Greenwich.

In perhaps a further ploy conducted by Labor’s Sussex Street headquarters to ensure a Liberal defeat after deciding not to contest the Sydney by-election, former NSW Premier and recently retired Labor MP Kristina Keneally has today publicly thrown her support behind Independent candidate Alex Greenwich.

A by-election for the state seat of Sydney vacated last week by Independent MP Clover Moore will be held in late October.

Under fire Liberal Senator Cory Bernardi has pulled out from a speech to conservative youth groups in the UK after the British Conservative party distanced itself from the visiting South Australian senator following his comments linking bestiality to same-sex marriage.

The Senate has voted down a marriage equality bill 41-26 only a day after a similar bill was defeated in Federal Parliament’s lower house.

High-profile gay rights advocate Alex Greenwich has announced he will contest the by-election for the state seat of Sydney as an Independent after today receiving the backing of outgoing popular long-serving MP Clover Moore.

Liberal Senator Cory Bernardi has resigned as parliamentary secretary to Coalition Leader Tony Abbott after coming under fire from within his own party as well by marriage equality advocates for claiming same-sex marriage laws would lead to bestiality.

He may be the country’s potential next prime minister but the family of Tony Abbott now have another sibling to support in the political world after the Coalition Leader’s openly gay sister, Christine Forster, was named the winner of the final City of Sydney council seat following this month’s local government elections.

Tasmania is one step closer to becoming the first Australian state or territory to introduce marriage equality, with Premier Lara Giddings today tabling a co-sponsored bill allowing same-sex couples to legally marry.

Sick of hearing constant negativity and pessimism surrounding the current state of Oxford Street by parties contesting the City of Sydney election, one high-profile candidate has come into bat for the city’s struggling gay mile saying it’s not all “doom and gloom”.

She made headlines earlier this year when it was made public her brother is Opposition Leader Tony Abbott. Now, she is making political waves of her own as a Liberal candidate for the upcoming local council elections for the City of Sydney. With her partner Virginia Edwards, Serkan Ozturk meets Christine Forster.