Death Notice

Fiona Uncategorized

I was on the crux of publishing another article about Fed Parliament, rape, and the rule of law (and will do so soon), but I’m so enchanted by this that I must share – what a brilliant woman!
I hope her family will forgive me for republishing this, but given it’s already in the public domain, and given what a fantastic woman she obviously was, I hope they will forgive me.

EVANS, Elaine Anne

After 84 years of pushing and dominating her family, ‘little sis’ Elaine has lost her final battle with the grim reaper.

Although she managed to get her way on most of the matters she took on during her lifetime, she bit off more than she should with the big C, but she would say only because it took a rare and highly aggressive one to finish her off.

Despite her diminutive stature and disarming smile, only the brave took on Elaine or the causes she fought for, at least directly, and woe to anyone who misjudged her tenacity and will power to push aside mountains of bureaucracy and accepted practice if these stood in her way.

Not content with getting her way with her immediate and extended families, Elaine took her battle for fairness and justice for her beloved Sydney western suburbs to such areas as Board member of Parramatta Hospital (1984-88), Councillor on Parramatta City Council (1987-91), Board member on Parramatta Park Trust (2001 -11).

While these organisations all probably felt the heat of Elaine’s passion to challenge the ‘accepted way’, they would probably all admit they emerged fairer and more responsive to local needs for her time with them.

Eschewing most official recognition for her community work, Elaine was chuffed to be pulled up by the Western Australian police while holidaying with her beloved Bill in 1999, telling her she needed to fly back to Sydney to receive the inaugural Justice Medal awarded by the Law Foundation of NSW at Parliament House for her “outstanding contribution to justice in NSW” – arising from her decade of work at the then Women’s Legal Resource Centre supporting women, especially in western Sydney as well as the more remote and needy corners of the State.

All pretty good for the daughter of a fettler and a railway gate keeper in Armidale who left school at 15 to take care for her newly widowed dad, worked in factories and farms before resuming her schooling at forty by completing her HSC so she could enter tertiary studies to better help others. Always the overachiever, Elaine topped her class at the then Milperra College of Advanced Education and was awarded the Council Medal in 1979.

Elaine’s passion for justice for all made her a very active member and supporter of the Labor Left, and the Evans dinner table at Toongabbie was never free of animated discussion and debate on the failings of the ‘other side’, be it Labor or Liberal, to achieve fairness and equity for those in need.

Elaine will be greatly missed by husband Bill, her siblings Grace, Joan and Gerald, along with her proud children Graham, Jennifer, Jeffrey and Sharon (dec) and their wider families.

Thanks to Sally-Ann, Trish and their respective teams at Mt Druitt Palliative Care Unit for their special care in Elaine’s final weeks, along with Dr Dinh at Westmead Hospital oncology.


3,208 thoughts on “Death Notice”

  4. This thread describes the activities in a covid ICU ward

  5. So now we have an alleged rapist as acting leader of the house..

    FFS! This government keeps getting worse Just when you think they cannot go any lower they surprise you with a new low. They were way through the bottom of the barrel years ago, now they are tunneling through the earth’s crust.

    Peter Dutton will miss parliament after covid contact

    Peter Dutton has released this statement:

    My sons attend a school subject to the current Queensland Health directive and as a household member I am subject to the 14 day direction. I will quarantine at home with my family.

    I will therefore be unable to attend Parliament, although will take part in Leadership, NSC, ERC and Cabinet meetings remotely.

    I will still perform my duties as Minister for Defence, however the Hon Christian Porter MP will perform Leader of the House duties whilst I am unable to attend.

    Having had covid and being fully vaccinated, I have also tested negative this morning

    And –

    David Gillespie (Nationals) is the deputy leader of the house, so under normal circumstances, you would expect him to take over from Peter Dutton as leader of the house, given Dutton’s absence, not Christian Porter.

    It is possible Gillespie is not travelling because he is a NSW MP, and won’t be in parliament, but still

    https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/live/2021/aug/02/australia-covid-live-update-army-troops-police-sydney-restrictions-aged-care-queensland-outbreak-parliament-returns

    Update –

    David Gillespie has been seen in the parliament – so Christian Porter has been chosen to be the acting leader of the house, ahead of Gillespie who is the deputy leader of the house

  11. Good morning Dawn Patrollers

    More than 100 places – including schools, hospitals, supermarkets and airports – are now connected to Queensland’s growing cluster and there is particular concern about the number of children with the coronavirus. A third of the people who have recently caught COVID-19 in that state are kids. Six schools are on alert, including Ironside and Indooroopilly state schools where several students have tested positive.
    https://thenewdaily.com.au/news/2021/08/03/brisbane-sydney-schools-covid-lockdown/?breaking_live_scroll=1
    Jack Waterford says it’s the premiers, not Albanese, who are throwing Morrison out the window. A very good read.
    https://johnmenadue.com/premiers-not-albanese-are-throwing-morrison-out-the-window/
    The SMH has the lowdown on NSW’s lockdown exit plan and reveal that outdoor dining at pubs and clubs will be allowed, gyms can reopen with strict rules and students will be back in classrooms once a majority of NSW adults are vaccinated.
    https://www.smh.com.au/politics/nsw/nsw-s-recovery-road-map-has-schools-and-hospitality-first-to-return-20210802-p58f6l.html
    Michael Pascoe writes that a general launching “a savage broadside” in national cabinet against a state premier is important news and should have been followed up by the mainstream media.
    https://thenewdaily.com.au/opinion/2021/08/03/scott-morrison-military-coronavirus/
    Here is Michael Keating’s second part of his contribution on what Labor needs to offer. This time it is about the ability of a future Labor Government to now pay for the services that we need and want.
    https://johnmenadue.com/what-does-labor-offer-part-2/
    Shane Wright and Jennifer Duke write that the RBA will consider increasing its purchases of government debt to stabilise the economy as rolling lockdowns threaten to slow the jobs market and hit consumer confidence.
    https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/mounting-crisis-lockdowns-may-force-rba-re-think-on-stimulus-20210802-p58f3l.html
    David Crowe reports that federal funds are being put at risk in schemes handing out more than $10 billion with inadequate checks on ministerial power, according to a new Centre for Public Integrity study of programs ranging from job projects to commuter car parks.
    https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/ministers-have-too-much-control-10b-in-taxpayer-funds-put-at-risk-20210802-p58f70.html
    Alan Kohler writing about the government’s plans for getting out of lockdowns says that allowing some families to be financially ruined is unforgivable.
    https://thenewdaily.com.au/finance/finance-news/2021/08/02/lockdown-costs-alan-kohler/
    Prime Minister Scott Morrison has not only proven himself a failure to Australians but also on the world stage, writes Bruce Haigh.
    https://independentaustralia.net/politics/politics-display/morrisons-policy-failures-will-be-his-undoing,15360
    The way out of lockdown is clear: we need higher vaccination rates. But it cannot be a lottery, so we need to give people incentives to roll up their sleeves, says the SMH editorial.
    https://www.smh.com.au/national/greater-incentives-needed-to-boost-australia-s-vaccination-levels-20210802-p58f20.html
    To this end Anthony Albanese has proposed a new cash incentive for COVID-19 vaccinations that would help prevent restrictions that come at a huge cost to the economy.
    https://www.theage.com.au/politics/federal/cash-for-jabs-labor-calls-for-300-payment-for-those-who-get-vaccinated-20210802-p58f87.html
    The Australian’s Geoff Chambers says that Scott Morrison will pursue “freedom incentives” ahead of cash payments under the national cabinet’s four-phase reopening plan, with new research commissioned by the federal government warning that large financial ­incentives and lotteries have had “little to no impact on longer-term vaccination rates”.
    https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/politics/freedom-incentives-to-spur-vaccination-as-scott-morrison-rejects-cash/news-story/91b29bb9fffa3b5c69fa5112235479e5
    Tom McIlroy explains how an apparently ad hoc change to COVID-19 disaster payments by Scott Morrison has made federal support significantly more generous than the original Jobkeeper scheme, increasing payments while creating confusion among tax professionals.
    https://www.afr.com/politics/federal/confusion-over-tax-free-status-of-covid-19-disaster-payments-20210802-p58f6o
    A COVID-19 cluster at an inner west aged care facility has grown to 20 cases, as it is revealed fewer than a third of aged care workers in Sydney are fully vaccinated.
    https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/summer-hill-cluster-hits-20-aged-care-vaccination-rate-remains-low-20210802-p58f7e.html
    Peter FitzSimons warns the anti-vaxxers that our Covid-19 passes are coming. He mouta a coherent argument.
    https://www.smh.com.au/national/stay-home-anti-vaxxers-while-we-part-ay-our-covid-passports-are-coming-20210802-p58f79.html
    Katherine Murphy tells us that a majority of Australian voters would be comfortable with vaccination passports as a precondition of future domestic travel, and with entertainment venues requiring proof of inoculation before entry, according to the latest Guardian Essential poll.
    https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2021/aug/03/most-australians-comfortable-with-vaccination-passports-for-domestic-travel-and-venues-poll-reveals
    National cabinet has agreed to a review of the COVID-19 protocols for truck drivers, as the Victorian government considers new options to ensure freight workers do not reintroduce the virus into the state. The Prime Minister and state premiers last week sanctioned federal and state transport ministers to determine improvements to the permit and testing requirements for cross-border truck drivers that vary for each state.
    https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/victoria-records-two-new-local-cases-linked-to-current-outbreaks-20210802-p58ey7.html
    Sending the army into locked-down Sydney will leave the most vulnerable feeling angry and targeted, says Paul Daley.
    https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/commentisfree/2021/aug/02/sending-the-army-into-locked-down-sydney-will-leave-the-most-vulnerable-feeling-angry-and-targeted
    Inflation is the latest measure to show the Coalition’s current economic management is failing the nation, writes Alan Austin.
    https://independentaustralia.net/politics/politics-display/rising-living-costs-plunge-australias-economic-ranking,15361
    John Lord describes a government with little respect, giving many examples.
    https://theaimn.com/a-government-with-such-little-respect/
    Nick Bonyhady reports from a heavily redacted report obtained through Fo! that the government used to show it had properly refunded more than half a billion dollars from the unlawful robodebt welfare recovery scheme reveals “learner” staff were used to assess refund payments. Shameless!
    https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/services-australia-used-learner-staff-to-process-complex-robodebt-refunds-20210802-p58f2e.html
    Advocates fear proposed privacy changes to the National Disability Insurance Scheme could be used against the people it’s designed to help. Disability organisations have also criticised a lack of consultation about the changes, including how information will be shared.
    https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2021/aug/02/ndis-bill-to-make-information-easier-to-share-could-harm-privacy-of-participants-advocates-say
    Annika Smethurst refers to a leaked document that shows Michael O’Brien will spruik himself as experienced while attempting to frame the Premier as arrogant and obsessed with spin ahead of the 2022 poll.
    https://www.theage.com.au/politics/victoria/team-player-o-brien-outlines-election-strategy-plan-to-party-insiders-20210802-p58f5h.html
    Things have changed in Australia. But the interest rate is unlikely to for some time, predicts Greg Jericho.
    https://www.theguardian.com/business/grogonomics/2021/aug/03/things-have-changed-in-australia-but-the-interest-rate-is-unlikely-to-for-some-time
    Lisa Visentin writes that media experts are saying YouTube’s decision to suspend Sky News Australia from its platform has exposed the need for Australia’s communications watchdog to review broadcast standards to ensure they remain relevant in the era of misinformation.
    https://www.theage.com.au/politics/federal/communications-watchdog-s-role-in-question-as-sky-news-australia-cops-youtube-suspension-20210802-p58f49.html
    The Guardian says at least six videos from Sky News Australia hosts Alan Jones, Rowan Dean and Rita Panahi have been deleted for violating YouTube policies by advocating the effectiveness of hydroxychloroquine or ivermectin as treatments for Covid-19.
    https://www.theguardian.com/media/2021/aug/03/six-videos-by-sky-news-australia-hosts-alan-jones-rowan-dean-and-rita-panahi-removed-from-youtube
    Meanwhile, Greg Hunt has appealed to “everybody to stick with the facts” on Covid-19 after Facebook marked a recent post by a Liberal National party colleague as containing “false information”.
    https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2021/aug/03/stick-with-the-facts-greg-hunts-plea-to-politicians-after-lnp-senators-false-facebook-covid-posts
    Ronald Mizen reports that just hours after calling on the federal government to abandon a permanent relaxation of sharemarket disclosure laws, Pauline Hanson (who NEVER flipflops) said she would back the change, with a review in two years.
    https://www.afr.com/politics/federal/hanson-s-change-of-mind-brings-continuous-disclosure-reform-closer-20210802-p58f2p
    Nick Toscano tells us that Australia’s top renewable energy group has urged legislators to reject a proposal to pay coal and gas-fired power stations to keep operating.
    https://www.theage.com.au/business/companies/we-need-more-urgency-top-renewable-group-warns-against-paying-to-keep-coal-alive-20210802-p58f4b.html
    The transport and logistics giant, Toll, says it may be the company that failed to comply with Australia’s cyber spy agency for weeks after it was hit by a significant cyber attack.
    https://www.theage.com.au/politics/federal/toll-concedes-may-not-have-worked-with-australia-s-cyber-spy-agency-fast-enough-during-major-hack-20210802-p58f59.html
    Growing global meat consumption threatens to derail the Paris Agreement, but that hasn’t stopped the meat industry insisting it is part of the solution to climate change, explains The Independent Australia.
    https://independentaustralia.net/environment/environment-display/corporate-spin-meat-industry-denies-accelerating-climate-change,15348
    Peter Hartcher criticises China’s diplomatic antics over the Olympic Games.
    https://www.smh.com.au/national/xi-jinping-and-his-gold-meddling-flunkies-20210802-p58f7v.html
    We need a top-level inquiry into runaway home prices, writes Jess Irvine and she reckons Ken Henry’s up for it.
    https://www.smh.com.au/business/the-economy/we-need-a-top-level-inquiry-into-runaway-home-prices-and-ken-henry-s-up-for-it-20210802-p58f63.html
    A Melbourne aged care business founded by two brothers convicted of shocking animal cruelty has been placed into voluntary administration. Bloody spivs!
    https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/former-bankrupt-chicken-killers-put-aged-care-business-into-administration-20210802-p58f54.html

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  12. “Growing global meat consumption threatens to derail the Paris Agreement, but that hasn’t stopped the meat industry insisting it is part of the solution to climate change, explains The Independent Australia”

    This makes me so very cranky. The anti-meat movement is growing, but if only people knew the truth. They are being misled by big food companies keen to flog their highly processed non-food to the gullible masses.

    What are us meat-loving humans supposed to live on if these loonies get their way? Heavily processed soy-based fake meat? I noticed on Sunday when I was doing a big online stock-up at Coles their meat section included a section labelled “Meat-free Beef”. WTAF!!! If it’s not meat from cattle it is not beef, it’s processed gunk, usually soy-based or pea protein based. Or even worse, as I’ll get to further down.

    The ingredients for “Beyond Burger Plant Based Burger Patties” are –
    Water, Pea Protein Isolate (17%), Expeller-Pressed Canola Oil, Refined Coconut Oil, Rice Protein, Natural Flavours, Cocoa Butter, Mung Bean Protein, Thickener (461), Potato Starch, Apple Extract, Salt, Gelling Agent (508), Vinegar, Lemon Juice Concentrate, Antioxidant (322 from Sunflower), Pomegranate Fruit Powder, Beetroot Juice Extract (for colour).
    https://shop.coles.com.au/a/taree/product/the-beyond-burger

    The canola oil alone would have me reject this stuff.

    These fake burgers are made in the USA in a factory and transported, presumably by air, to Australia. They are then loaded onto trucks and distributed to supermarkets. It would take a lot of farting cattle to get anywhere near the emissions produced by manufacturing and transporting this gunk and similar products.

    Even worse is the “Fable Plant Based Braised Beef”, produced in Malaysia. Whoever made this crap is so proud of their product they don’t even list the ingredients, all that is supplied is a list of possible allergens. Even enlarging the tiny photo of the back of the pack provides no clues as it is too small to be legible.

    I did a search for this product. The manufacturer’s page was no help at all, they didn’t even show this crap or list any ingredients for their products, although I did find out their gunk is based on mushrooms. I finally tracked down the ingredients-
    Shiitake Mushroom (62%), Coconut Oil, Isolated Soy Protein, Sugar, tapioca Flour, Gluten Free Soy Sauce, Yeast Extract, Salt, White Pepper, Black Pepper.
    May contain traces of Egg, Peanut, Sesame and Wheat as manufactured on the same premises with these ingredients.
    https://www.doorsteporganics.com.au/Plant-Based-Braised-Beef-Fable-250g

    Well, that’s a big “NO!” from me . Why the hell does it contain sugar? And tapioca flour is known to trigger insulin spikes, not good if you have worked hard to get your insulin and blood sugar back to normal levels

    By eating these fake “meats” you risk making your health worse, not improving it.

    Quorn is another popular meat substitute. It is based on fungus, mycoprotein to be exact. I wouldn’t eat it if you paid me a substantial amount of money. What exactly is mycoprotein?

    Mycoprotein is a meat replacement product that’s available in a variety of forms such as cutlets, burgers, patties, and strips. It’s marketed under the brand name Quorn, and is sold in 17 countries including the United States.[And Australia.]

    It was approved for use in 1983 as a commercial food ingredient by the U.K. Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food. In 2001, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) admitted it into a class of foods “generally recognized as safe (GRAS).”

    However, a number of studies indicate that the primary ingredient used to make mycoprotein is a potential allergen, and may cause dangerous reactions if consumed.
    ………………………………………………………………………
    Mycoprotein is a protein made from Fusarium venenatum, a naturally occurring fungus.

    To create mycoprotein, manufacturers ferment fungi spores along with glucose and other nutrients. The fermentation process is similar to what’s used to create beer. It results in a doughy mixture with a meat-like texture that’s high in protein and fiber.

    https://www.healthline.com/health/mycoprotein

    Yum! Fermented fungus for dinner! Those adverse reactions mentioned are vomiting, nausea, diarrhea, and, less often, hives and potentially fatal anaphylactic reactions. Still want to chow down on a plateful of mycoprotein?

    Look, be vegetarian or even vegan if you want. I’m not against vegetarians (vegans are another matter) – one of my sons has been vegie for years, his kids have grown up knowing nothing else. Do it for spiritual reasons, or because you cannot bear the thought of eating animals or whatever reason you want, but be prepared to take a stack of vitamins and supplements every day to make up for all the things you will be missing, especially vitamins B12 and D3.

    Do not do it because you believe you are helping save the planet, because you will only be adding to emissions by adopting a highly processed form of “food”.

    And read this, or search for similar articles, of which there are many –
    The Bogus Burger Blame

    To suggest that all we need to do to solve climate change is rid our society of beef burgers is at its best a gross exaggeration according to research out of Virginia Tech, and worse, a smokescreen by big oil. To quote climate scientist Michael Mann, whose recent book deals with the misinformation that distracts from big oil head on, “There is no way to avert the climate crisis without keeping most of our coal, oil and gas in the ground, plain and simple

    https://clear.ucdavis.edu/blog/bogus-burger-blame?fbclid=IwAR3n3jM79xpe7TGzJFbBphGjnjRPBtC9awZmEZdHXEHvjhAswvkE6pFbYGc

  15. The good burgers of Toorak in the expensive prepared meals shop were very vocal in their disgust for Scott Morrison.

    (I did not start it or mention his name and a very upright matron did)

    You know how when you are driving along and you see a really dangerous piece of driving behavior and say “Where is a policeman when you need them”
    Well the other day I was trying to change lanes on the 4 lane one-way highway Alt-1. The car in my blind spot stayed there. so I had to slow to move to the left lane. Imagine my surprise when 2 motorcycle cops pulled the car over.
    In Vic it’s quite common to refuse to let vehicles change into your lane

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