Wilkie calls on ACMA to investigate Nine. Independent MP Andrew Wilkie has called for an inquiry from broadcasting authority ACMA into comments by rugby league commentators Ray Warren and Phil Gould attacking his poker machine reforms.

Wilkie’s plans for mandatory pre-commitment on poker machines has angered the NRL, which relies on gambling to help prop up a number of its clubs. Warren and Gould recently slammed the policy at half time during the September preliminary final between Manly and Brisbane. Wilkie is planning to send a letter to Channel Nine today and is calling on ACMA to investigate the network for the outburst.

“If someone is going to effectively make a political advertisement, then there are issues that it has to be identified as such and authorised,” he told Sky News. — Tom Cowie (read the full story here)

Angry: I want to run for the Nats. Watch out Peter Garrett: another bald, outspoken rock star has his sights set on Parliament House. And he’s determined to bring Julia Gillard’s government — and her carbon tax — down.

Rose Tattoo front man Angry Anderson may be a cityslicker through and through — he was born in Melbourne and lives in Sydney’s northern beaches — but he wants to run for the National Party at the next federal election. The self-described “lapsed Labor supporter” says he joined the Nats because he didn’t want to be silenced by either of the major parties. He will consider moving from Beacon Hill, near Manly, to a rural or regional area if the party wants him to run. — Matthew Knott (read the full story here)

Gay and lesbian choir to sing to Kirby’s tune. During his days on the High Court, Michael Kirby was famous for being the “rock star of the bench” so it’s only fitting that one of his speeches is now being set to music. Composer John Peterson has incorporated Kirby’s speech at the 2002 Sydney Gay Games into a new libretto to be performed next month by the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Choir.

Peterson’s piece, entitled Dreams and Visions, is described as “a sweeping meditation on the human condition” and also includes words written by Henry Lawson and Walt Whitman. — Matthew Knott (read the full story here)