'I doubt we're going to end up agreeing': Prime Minister Julia Gillard. Credit:Wayne Taylor As Ms Gillard was speaking at Ringwood, a conscience vote in New Zealand parliament passed the Marriage (Definition of Marriage) Amendment Bill with a convincing 77-44 vote. New Zealand is the 13th country to legalise gay marriage and the first in the Asia-Pacific. The Greens greeted the news from New Zealand by saying the party would introduce legislation when parliament resumes in May that would ensure Australia recognises the marriages of gay couples who wed overseas. Senator Sarah Hanson-Young said on Thursday that the ''sad thing'' about New Zealand legalising same-sex marriage is that Australian gay couples would wed there only to ''leave their marriage at the customs gate'' when they return to Australia.

''We are happy for our New Zealand cousins but we want to see it here,'' Senator Hanson-Young said. When comment was sought on the NZ development from Opposition Leader Tony Abbott, his office pointed to a previous interview in which he reiterated that while Coalition policy stated that marriage was between a man and a woman, MPs would not be allowed a conscience vote on this issue. Last year, an attempt to legalise gay marriage failed in the Australian parliament, with Ms Gillard opposed to the move, and Mr Abbott refusing Coalition MPs a conscience vote. On Thursday, Mr Abbott was asked again about same-sex marriage and said it was ''decisively rejected'' last year. ''We had a parliamentary vote on this just a few months ago and it was fairly decisively rejected. That's what this parliament had done,'' Mr Abbott said.

South Australian Labor MP Nick Champion said on Thursday that Labor MPs had a free vote in the parliament last September, in contrast to the Coalition bloc opposing the gay marriage bill. The bill was defeated 98 to 42 in the House of Representatives. Mr Champion said he was allowed to express his conscience by voting yes on the bill. ''I did that and I was on the right side of history,'' he told Sky News. ''Tony Abbott bound the Liberal Party and bound people like (Liberal MP) Kelly O'Dwyer to a party position,'' Mr Champion said.

But Ms O'Dwyer said that the Coalition honoured the policy it took to the 2010 election of marriage between a man and a woman. ''Unlike this current government, we don't break promises we make to the electorate,'' she said. Ms O'Dywer, who supports gay marriage, said social change was complex. ''The position on this issue will evolve over time,'' she said. Independent Sydney MP and gay rights activist Alex Greenwich said the vote showed the campaign for gay marriage was ''unstoppable''. ''I wanted to come over here and see that it can happen,'' Mr Greenwich told reporters in Wellington.

He said the vote gave ''a lot of hope and a lot of encouragement to campaigns in Australia''. ''The growing international pressure that was just taken up a notch with New Zealand embracing this important reform is sending a message that marriage equality is unstoppable,'' he said. ''If New Zealand can do it, Australia can as well.'' Australian Marriage Equality national convener Rodney Croome labelled the vote a ''game changer''. ''This will be a game changer in Australia because of the close links between our two countries,'' he said in a statement.

Mr Croome expects as many as 1000 gay couples will now cross the Tasman to get married. ''Now that marriage equality is only three hours away there will be a flood of couples flying to New Zealand,'' he said. Loading AAP Follow the National Times on Twitter