Gone Gaga

STEFANI Joanne Angelina Germanotta, otherwise known as Lady Gaga, is visiting Sydney and spreading herself all over town with scheduled media gigs.

STEFANI Joanne Angelina Germanotta, otherwise known as Lady Gaga, is visiting Sydney where she's doing unscheduled gigs and spreading herself all over town with scheduled media gigs. Gaga is making quite a splash. High on the list of unrehearsed utterings was during an interview with A Current Affair's

Tracy Grimshaw on Monday night in which she was asked if she thought Julia Gillard was a hypocrite for living with her partner while being an advocate for traditional marriage, but not gay marriage. Assuming Gillard's partner was a woman, Gaga got stirred up and offered the view that Gillard was a hypocrite. Realising she had got things mixed up, Gaga asked for a re-take in which she gave a more considered answer. Her excuse was that in the US, referring to a partner is a euphemism for a gay relationship.

Mayor in Clover

PERHAPS we could be accused of cynicism for thinking that Sydney mayor Clover Moore is trying to take a morsel of reflected glory - and a sprinkling of gay glamour - from Gaga's visit. Moore, who is well known for wearing a rather butch studded collar, seemed close to adulation when she gave Gaga an honorary citizenship of the city for her support of the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community, a community that happens to be the core of Moore's constituency and where she suffered a solid hit to her vote in the NSW March elections. "Lady Gaga has been a powerful force for the gay and lesbian community in Sydney and we have a rare honour for people whose achievements embrace the ideals and spirit of our city," Moore gushed in a prepared statement. She went on to praise Gaga for using her star power to support the gay community. That won't hurt Moore's electoral appeal.

Slogans wear thin

IF, at the start of this debate about a great big new tax (not quite so big, it seems Tony Abbott), Julia Gillard had warned about the evils of pollution instead of the perils of carbon, she wouldn't be so far down the gurgler. Yesterday morning, Gillard suddenly started referring to carbon pollution. Not once or twice, but incessantly. Is that why people are turning off? Once she gets a word or a phrase into her brain it seems to pop out in an irritatingly repetitive manner for the rest of the day. It's not just leading radio presenter Ray Hadley who is being driven nuts by Gillard's babbling about wearing out her shoe leather selling the tax. It's most of the rest of us, too.

Born yesterday?

APOLOGIES for our apparent fascination with Lady Gaga. She's a sleb (thank you Rod Liddle of The Spectator for coining the word) phenomenon. Anyhow, US presidential hopeful and former Minnesota governor Tim Pawlenty says he likes Gaga's gay song Born this Way but has opened himself to scoffing disapproval for saying he doubts whether someone is born gay.

"As I understand the science, there's no current conclusion that it's genetic", a sentence that quickly made Americans wonder whether he understands the science. One man blogged that he'd be "hard-pressed to find [anyone] who'd say they woke up one day and chose to be gay". The best tweet was from Rubinville: "Why is being gay the only time Republicans believe in science?"

All bets off on Yates

ACCORDING to a reputable source, online bookmaker sportsbet.com.au, the chances of London's assistant police commissioner at Scotland Yard, John Yates, becoming the next chief commissioner of Victoria Police -- where he was once a favourite -- have taken a dip following his tardy response to bribery allegations against some of his officers. Odds have gone from $12 out to $51. "We're of the opinion that Yates has next to no chance now of becoming Victoria's next top cop," says sportsbet's Haydn Lane. "On the other hand, there has been a push in the past 48 hours for NSW deputy commissioner Nick Kaldas, which has seen his odds shrink significantly from $21 into just $7. Would Victoria go for a Sydneysider? "There wasn't much early interest in Kaldas and his odds drifted from $16 to $21, but a flurry in the past 48 hours has seen his price shorten dramatically into just $7,"

Lane says. Are we seeing some insider trading here? Perhaps. Former Victorian chief commissioner Christine Nixon has attracted a few small bets but remains an outsider at $251, in from $501. Another Pom, Ken Jones, the bloke sacked by the previous top cop Simon Overland is at $4.50.

Quick on the draw

AN exchange in Queensland estimates between Treasurer Andrew Fraser and his shadow, Tim Nicholls, caught our eye yesterday. Nicholls asked why a Treasury statement was available in Japanese.

Fraser: "We provide those statements bilingually given the importance of the Japanese financial markets."

Nicholls: "OK."

Fraser: "We can do it in crayon as well if it helps others."

Nicholls: "No, no, that's all right. It's not caucus, mate."