First we had the ‘It Gets Better’ campaign where GLBT adults and their supporters recorded messages for GLBT youth letting them know that life as a GLBT person gets better in an effort to reduce GLBT youth suicide.
Now we have the ‘I Expect Better’ campaign which encourages people to record messages to their political representatives telling them that we expect better from them in bringing forth Marriage Equality. This campaign was started by Shelley Argent recording a message for the Australian PM Julia Gillard about how she as a parent of a gay son expects better from Gillard in supporting marriage equality which Gillard, so far, refuses to do.
As an Australian lesbian who is appalled by the lack of any formal recognition of same-sex partnerships in Australia, I applaud this effort by Shelley Argent to bring into the spotlight this issue. Already there are many videos from people throughout Australia and around the world calling on their political representatives to stand up for the rights of GLBT people and support Marriage Equality.
If you have the means and feel strongly about this issue, I encourage you to record your own video. If you don’t have the means, but support the cause, please join the I Expect Better Facebook page.
On a personal note, since I now live in Germany which allows same-sex marriage, I can get married here, but as it now stands, I will never be able to move back to Australia with my hypothetical wife and have our marriage legally recognised. In Australia, my wife and I’s marriage does not exist and she would not be able to apply for a spousal visa. Imagine what it would be like to have your own marriage totally invalidated by your own country’s government and your relationship treated like it means nothing. Now you know why we are pushing for Marriage Equality in those countries which refuse to recognise it. Please support us.
Counting Time 
I completely agree.
I now live in South Africa, where, for the first time in my life I am recognised as a person who is equal to all other people. I can get married.
I am actually ashamed of how backward Australia is in this respect. Backward and small-minded.
Hard to believe our current PM is an atheist living in a defacto relationship with all the importance she places on only letting heterosexuals get married, isn’t it? I wonder what Penny Wong, our openly gay environmental minister thinks of her leader’s stance on same-sex marriage?
Not to take anything away from your awesome endorsement of “I expect better” (with which I *totally* concur!), but..small correction about bringing your hypothetical wife back to Australia. While Australia would not recogise the two of you as legally married, she would still be able to apply for a spousal visa as a defacto partner. As you are no doubt aware, defacto spouses (same-sex and opposite-sex) have most of the same rights in Australia as a legally married couple. Sadly, this has led some people in ‘the community’ to advocate that marriage equality isn’t all that important after all. *sigh*
Now, try being from the USA where your marriage really doesn’t mean diddly squat, your children together (should you have any) aren’t recognised, and there’s no way in hell you can ever bring your wife back there to live. In fact, you better pretend you don’t know eachother at the border or they might just cancel her tourist visa. Kinda makes Australia not look so bad. Ah, don’t mind me, I’m just bitter..
I thought defactos came under a different visa type than spouses and that it was harder to prove defacto status then a spouse where you just show them your marriage certificate. Glad to see that they have improved that over recent years, but overseas same-sex marriages need to be recognised in Australia which they are currently not.
Riayn,
More infuriating, from my point of view, was the fact that the Oz embassy in Berlin was actually obstructive when I wanted to civilly union my partner. If you’re an immigrant, the German gov’t, not unreasonably, wants a CNIM (certificate of no impediment to marriage) from the country of which you are a citizen.
The Australian version of the form insists that you name the person you intend to marry, so the government can state that there is no impediment to marry that person. If that person happens to be of the same sex, no CNIM. My husband is Japanese, so the embassy couldn’t tell if his name was male or female. It was issued in his name, but his title was “Miss”. Useless, and they wouldn’t issue a correct one.
Luckily, I was able to get a near-equivalent from the Victorian Dept of Births, Deaths and Marriages.
Thank Family First!
An Australian friend of mine in Hamburg had the exact same issue as you did. It’s shameful.