SYDNEY: An Australian radio presenter has been suspended after pressing embattled Prime Minister Julia Gillard on air whether her hairdresser boyfriend Tim Mathieson is gay, as colleagues rushed to her defence Friday.

The startling exchange came with Gillard's Labor party far behind in the polls ahead of September elections. Personal attacks are mounting against her, including a recent menu item at an opposition party fundraiser that she called "grossly sexist and offensive".

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