Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard will probably not forget this week as she turned golden on Thursday. Before her 50th birthday, opposition leader Tony Abbott called for her to resign over her alleged failure to protect the borders while there is a movement within Labor to bring Kevin Rudd back to his old post.

Last week Gillard was parodied in a TV program that outraged many because the actress portraying her was shown draped with the Australian flag after making love with her partner.

Her birthday also comes after surveys showed her popularity at record low levels.

Gillard has just joined Madonna, U.S. President Barack Obama and actors Jean-Claude van Damme and Michael J. Fox in the half-century club.

The National Seniors Australia said it looks forward to welcoming her.

"I think she needs to embrace and celebrate it as a great moment in her life. ... National Seniors would just like to say: Happy Birthday Prime Minister, the membership form's in the mail!" NSA Chief Executive Michael O'Neill told Australia Ageing.

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He said that if Gillard signed up, she would be entitled to benefits such as special travel deals and discounted movie tickets. He even suggested she could celebrate the day by watching a movie with partner Tim Mathieson.

Greens leader Bob Brown and his partner Paul Thomas said they will send a bouquet of flowers to Gillard as their way of greeting her.

"I noticed she's working on her birthday, I wish she had a day off," Brown told 9 News.

Another birthday gift the PM would get is a Cavoodle puppy from the Billabong Creek Farm, which a Twitter suggested be named Tony, after the opposition leader. It was a gift from Mathieson, with whom she will celebrate her birthday with a quiet dinner. 

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