Aust urged to catch up on gay marriage February 6, 2013 - 9:45AM Australian Greens MP Adam Bandt has welcomed the British vote on same sex marriage, saying it shows federal leaders are "on the wrong side of history." Prime Minister Julia Gillard and Opposition Leader Tony Abbott must catch up, he said. "If Catholic Spain can allow people to marry each other regardless of their gender, if Britain can do it, if the president of the United States of America thinks it is time to change, then Julia Gillard and Tony Abbott should back it as well," Mr Bandt told reporters in Canberra on Wednesday. This is a matter of not if, but when. The British vote, 400 to 175 to allow same-sex couples to marry in England and Wales, has spurred the federal Greens to introduce an updated marriage equality bill to the Senate. Greens senator Sarah Hanson Young on Wednesday will introduce a slightly updated version of her Marriage Equality Amendment Bill 2010 which already is before the Senate. Last year both houses of the Australian parliament rejected a same sex marriage bill sponsored by Labor backbenchers.