Australia

Penny Wong showed her newborn to the world yesterday. Baby Alexandra, weighing 7.1lbs, was conceived from a donor known to the couple, and carried by Wong's partner. Her birth comes a week after Finance Minister Wong backed the Labor Party's stance on marriage equality. While same-sex marriages have yet to be legalized, gay people throughout Australia have celebrated Labor's support. And it has led to the resignation from the party of former Prime Minister Kevin Rudd's sister - Loree Rudd - who said she could not work for a party that endorsed gays marrying.

Australia's ruling Labor Party recently agreed to support marriage equality. The decision, which is at odds with Prime Minister Julia Gillard's support for a national ban on same-sex marriage, was met with rousing applause from the 400 delegates and hailed by supporters as historic. In Australia marriage is mandated by federal legislation, so although civil same-sex unions are recognised in five states, the couples are not seen as "married" by the federal government.

A school in Australia is in a hot spot after it asked its students whether being gay is "the sickest sin" in a home assignment. Experts agree discrimination through such teaching leads to mental health issues and even suicide. A question in a later assignment asked what God said about homosexuality and pointed to Bible quotes for the answer, which calls it an "abomination".

Once known as "Australia's worst lesbian", Finance Minister Penny Wong recently announced that her partner, Sophie Allouache, has conceived through in-vitro fertilization [IVF] and is expecting their first child in December. Wong shifted her public position against marriage equality last year by announcing she would advocate at a national conference for a policy change “to support equality including in relation to marriage for same-sex couples”.

At Egalia preschool, children are known as "friends" rather than girls and boys. There's also a special emphasis on fostering an environment tolerant of GLBT people. There are no Snow White, Cinderella or other classic fairy tales seen as cementing stereotypes. Nearly all the children's books deal with gay couples, single parents or adopted children. From the color and placement of toys to the choice of books, every detail has been carefully planned to make sure the children don't fall into gender stereotypes.

The majority of Australians believe marriage equality will become a reality, a new poll suggests. Around 75 per cent of respondents agreed it was inevitable that Australian laws would be changed to allow same-sex marriage.

"The tide of history is running towards equality and nothing can turn it back," Australian Marriage Equality leader Alex Greenwich said in a statement.

Brisbane couple Melissa Keevers (27) and Rosemary Nolan (22) welcomed 5 new lives into their family in January. They immediately contacted Australian Multiple Birth Volunteer Support Program consultant Lynne Dunoon for help. She's searching for 50-60 volunteers to help with their daily parenting operation. Volunteers who pass police checks will chip in with tasks such as settling, feeding and washing baby clothes, between 8am and 10pm daily. Ms Keevers was artificially inseminated with sperm from an anonymous American donor.