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.
Good morning Dawn Patrollers
Looking at the Newspoll quarterly review, Simon Benson writes that the Coalition has lost significant electoral ground across its traditionally strongest states of Western Australia and Queensland and is facing collapse in South Australia, amid a war of words with the premiers over the vaccine rollout and the aftermath of the sexual assault allegations that have rocked the federal government.
https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/politics/newspoll-coalition-in-election-peril-after-hit-in-resources-states/news-story/8054285c6d0043314463bb676d1d04aa
Peter Hartcher says that probably no country has paid as high a price as Australia did for the international inquiry into the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic. By becoming the first in the world publicly to call for an independent investigation, Australia made itself a target of the Chinese Communist Party.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/australia-paid-a-high-price-for-unsatisfying-report-into-global-tragedy-20210405-p57gke.html
It could take more than two decades for Australia’s House of Representatives to reach gender parity, even if women win two in every three seats gained by the Coalition in the next few elections, according to new modelling, writes Daniel Hurst.
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2021/apr/06/coalition-will-hold-up-gender-parity-in-australias-parliament-for-decades-thinktank-says
In a special report, Shane Wright has a good look at the RBA and wonders if it has failed Australia.
https://www.theage.com.au/politics/federal/the-central-bank-under-fire-has-the-rba-failed-australians-20210315-p57auu.html
Rob Harris writes that secret documents have cast doubt on the independence of a wide-ranging review into the National Disability Insurance Scheme that recommended the most radical overhaul of the $25 billion program since it was established. You couldn’t trust Stuart Robert as far as you could throw him!
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/secret-documents-show-department-inserted-chapter-into-ndis-review-20210402-p57g5s.html
NSW Treasurer Dominic Perrottet has said the blame game over delays to the COVID-19 vaccine rollout must end, insisting the high cost of increasing its involvement in the program would not stop NSW from playing a larger role.
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/nsw/we-have-one-job-and-that-s-to-fight-the-virus-not-each-other-perrottet-20210405-p57glh.html
Australia risks never achieving herd immunity to Covid-19 unless it ramps up its strategy for engaging with vaccine hesitant populations, a former health department chief and an epidemiologist have warned.
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2021/apr/06/australia-warned-it-wont-achieve-herd-immunity-unless-it-deals-with-vaccine-hesitancy
New COVID variants have changed the game, and vaccines will not be enough. We need global ‘maximum suppression’, says this large panel of experts for The Conversation.
https://theconversation.com/new-covid-variants-have-changed-the-game-and-vaccines-will-not-be-enough-we-need-global-maximum-suppression-157870
There is no hard evidence of a link between the vaccine that will dominate Australia’s rollout and the syndrome, but experts are watchful nonetheless, explains Liam Mannix.
https://www.theage.com.au/national/here-s-what-we-know-about-astrazeneca-and-that-rare-blood-clotting-disorder-20210405-p57gl5.html
Josh Butler writes that expats are praising the overseas mass-vaccination model our government refuses to implement.
https://thenewdaily.com.au/news/politics/australian-politics/2021/04/06/mass-vacination-australia/
The AFR’s Sarah Turner writes that leading market economists expect house prices to roar ahead this year, but it’s an open question as to whether the gains will trigger a monetary clampdown.
https://www.afr.com/policy/economy/how-policy-response-to-property-market-could-cool-economy-20210330-p57f45
A cynical Michael Pascoe lifts the lid on what he describes as “the ‘expert’ consultants racket”.
https://thenewdaily.com.au/finance/finance-news/2021/04/06/expert-consultants-racket-pascoe/
And, right on cue, Australia is building a slew of new coal projects just as global demand for coal is in retreat. It’s justified by “independent expert” reports from the likes of Big Four firms Deloitte and EY. Luke Stacey and Michael West report on the flawed economics and compromised reports of the consultants.
https://www.michaelwest.com.au/crooked-consulting-ey-and-deloitte-spruik-climate-on-one-hand-the-explosion-in-new-coal-projects-on-the-other/
The climate spin can’t go on forever. Net zero must be our aim, says Alan Kohler.
https://thenewdaily.com.au/finance/finance-news/2021/04/06/alan-kohler-net-zero-2050/
Ad Astra marks the day Scott Morrison lost the next election.
https://theaimn.com/the-day-scott-morrison-lost-the-next-election/
The potential misuse of travel allowance claims from the office of a federal politician is the subject of an Australian Federal Police investigation, reports Josh Butler.
https://thenewdaily.com.au/news/politics/australian-politics/2021/04/05/afp-investigation-travel/
Jennifer Duke reports that Labor’s Stephen Jones has written to 90 Coalition MPs urging them to vote against the federal government’s proposed changes to the $3 trillion superannuation sector.
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/find-a-way-to-kill-it-superannuation-bill-under-attack-from-labor-and-funds-20210405-p57gim.html
The Morrison government has warned a jump in pay for low income earners could force small businesses already coping with the economic fallout of the global pandemic to cut jobs or staff hours.
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/big-rise-to-minimum-wage-risks-small-business-jobs-federal-government-warns-20210405-p57gn6.html
Major defence companies have been put on notice they can no longer blame higher production costs in Australia for shunning local suppliers, with Defence Industry Minister Melissa Price warning they need to ensure home-grown companies benefit from the country’s multibillion-dollar arms build-up, writes Andrew Tillett.
https://www.afr.com/politics/federal/big-defence-firms-need-to-do-better-on-local-content-promises-20210404-p57gdl
Kate McClymont tells us that, according to provisional liquidators, investors who lost millions of dollars in an unlicensed investment scheme run by accused fraudster Melissa Caddick may have “substantial claims” against accountants who audited their self-managed superannuation funds.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/melissa-caddick-s-victims-may-have-case-against-accountants-say-liquidators-20210405-p57gih.html
Britain’s barnstorming coronavirus vaccine rollout is being credited with a 60 per cent drop in symptomatic cases and 80 per cent fall in hospital admissions, clearing the way for the economy’s reopening, reports Bevan Shields.
https://www.smh.com.au/world/europe/barnstorming-vaccine-effort-key-to-dramatic-reversal-of-uk-s-covid-crisis-20210406-p57gpp.html
Cartoon Corner
David Pope
Cathy Wilcox
Matt Golding
Mark Knight
John Shakespeare
Andrew Dyson
Alan Moir
David Rowe
A gif from Glen Le Lievre
John Spooner
From the US
Like, we didn’t know?
Latest government lie, it will be chanted at pressers all day – probably all week.
Let’s shoot it down.
How many Australians would know the population of the US without looking it up? I don’t – I had to Google.
It’s 332,473,823, as of today.
So far the US has given 105 million (31.6% of their population) the first dose of vaccine. Compare that to Australia where not even 10% of us have had that initial dose.
That figure includes .62.4 million people who have received b(oth shots – 18.8% of the US population are now fully immunised.
https://time.com/collection/coronavirus-vaccines-updates/
How many Australians, apart from the CrimeMinister, have had their second shot? No-one seems to know and those who do know are keeping silent.
We do know that as of yesterday the Department of Health claimed 841,885 doses had been given. Few of those would have been second doses.
https://www.health.gov.au/initiatives-and-programs/covid-19-vaccines/getting-vaccinated-for-covid-19#australias-vaccine-rollout
This government cannot organise a rollout because they lied about supplies of vaccine. What we had were letters of intent to buy, not the solid orders the government claimed. Australia is at the bottom of the queue for imported vaccines and very slow to get manufacturing going here.
How about these talking heads just tell the truth for once instead of making up increasingly fantastical lies?
Someone is getting very touchy!
Did pencil neck Hartcher mention how many hours it was after Scotty bragged about his telephone call with Trump that Scotty put on his ‘tough guy’ act re China ? Way to go Scotty scored a double. Really make us look like a US/Trump lap dog and in doing so put a bit “Kick Me” on our back’s. You really couldn’t get a dumber way to going about getting an inquiry going into The Plague..
.
.
Andrew Probyn
Posted WedWednesday 22 AprApril 2020 at 2:22pm, updated WedWednesday 22 AprApril 2020 at 9:23pm
Prime Minister Scott Morrison………suggesting that the World Health Organization (WHO) needed tough new “weapons inspector” powers to investigate what caused the outbreak.
It was political dynamite.
.
.
Scott Morrison
@ScottMorrisonMP
·
Apr 22, 2020
Just got off the phone with US President
@realDonaldTrump
. We had a very constructive discussion on our health responses to #COVID19 and the need to get our market-led and business centres economies up and running again.
‘
Keep pointing it out, ABC!
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-04-05/liberal-senator-jim-molan-diagnosed-with-cancer/100049610
Bill Shorten’s reaction to the government’s sneaky tactics on the NDIS.
If the government really want to save money in the disability sector implement euthanasia.
Can’t live independently? take this pill.
Too twisted, gutless and cruel to make the necessary decisions. Honestly this mob can’t see past their cruel selfish prosperity sect dogma. Quite happy for the hidden voiceless to rot in their wheelchair because no one is checking the carers are doing their job properly
On the other hand looking after the vulnerable members of our community properly provides employment and raises the GDP
https://www.msn.com/en-au/news/australia/health-minister-award-for-covid-handling/ar-BB1ffPVy?ocid=msedgdhp
There must have been a lot of argy bargy.
Imagine awarding the Health Minister a McKinnon Leadership prize for work done by the only non-government minister nominated, Daniel Andrews
Wider group nominated for up and coming leader, but I think Anne Aly won as a compromise
What an absolute joke!
All Grunt did was lie, lie and lie again while parroting the government line.
Very well-timed considering Grunt’s award, and a very good take on why this government’s plans always resemble train wrecks.
Why The Shovel Was Awarded The Contract To Oversee Australia’s Vaccination Rollout: A Statement
https://www.theshovel.com.au/2021/04/06/the-shovel-awarded-vaccination-rollout/
poroti says: Tuesday, April 6, 2021 at 11:53 am
India must be swamped with covid. This morning’s covid numbers from NZ show in the last 2 days 17 cases among arrivals, 11 of 12 arrivals from India tested positive on the Day 1 arrival test. Last Thurs/Friday 10 out of 10 travelers arriving from India tested positive on Day 1. Given NZ requires a negative test result 72 hours before catching a flight something odd is going on over there.
I think anyone can read this
The CrimeMinister in the centre while two women look on, totally compliant. For once he is not smirling, probably because he much prefers men-only meetings.
It’s supposed to be the “Cabinet Women’s Taskforce” so why are there males involved? Can’t the women be trusted to manage on their own? Do the chaps need someone to make the coffee and sandwiches? Anyone suspect a set-up – a meeting designed for photo ops not a real meeting?
The other photos are just as woeful. They show a few males present – Fraudenberg, Birmo, MickMack (Lord help us!) but not, apparently, the other males in cabinet. Why were those males (I cannot call them men because they are not worthy of that label) chosen and not others in cabinet? Did the CrimeMinister feel incapable of having a meeting with no other males present?
https://photos.aap.com.au/search/%22CABINET%20WOMENS%20TASKFORCE%20MEETING%22?q=%7B%22pageSize%22:100,%22pageNumber%22:1,%22DateRange%22:%5B%7B%22Start%22:%222021-04-06%22,%22End%22:%222021-04-06%22%7D%5D,%22DateCreatedFilter%22:%22false%22%7D
Caveats!
Randy Rainbow –
Rachel Maddow –
Chris Hayes –
Stephen Colbert –
Jimmy Kimmel – (have barf bag ready at 5:33)
RM sub (nvg sound sorry)
Why is the ABC having the appalling fake Christian Martyn Isles of the ACL as a guest this week?
Don’t we already have enough right-wing propaganda?
I’m with the Reverend Andrew Klein on this –
https://www.abc.net.au/qanda/2021-08-04/13289400
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2021/apr/06/liberal-mp-andrew-laming-used-dozens-of-facebook-pages-to-promote-lnp-and-attack-opponents?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-04-06/michael-mccormack-ministers-intervened-bbrf-funding-grants/100049166
So it’s perfectly OK for unvaccinated Australians to fly to New Zealand.
What could possibly go wrong?
Darn socialists !
leonetwo,
[ What could possibly go wrong? ]
Yeah. It’s only a bit over a week ago that we almost had a Doctor and a RN almost cause an outbreak of the dreaded UK version of the virus in Qld and NSW.
It was only the prompt action of the Qld premier & Chief Health Officer that prevented what could have been an enormous tragedy that could have been impossible to halt.
The whole country has dodged a bullet due to that 3 day shutdown & I think it is way beyond time that the NSW Premier & her Federal counterpart, Morriscum shut their friggin mouths and give up trying to politisise every covid event in QLD.
Seeking to pick up a few miserable LNP points in the next poll every time there is a remote chance of doing damage to the QLD Premier seems to me to be a losing exercise!
Essential answer being “Well, we’re currently Covid-Free, so we don’t really have to bother with any urgency with this, even though we’ve seen hundreds of nations explode with Covid-19 cases over the past year and even though 98% of us are currently vulnerable to it, so, whatever. There, Scomo, was that good enough, can I have my paycheck now?”
The last buttons of the WA Legislative Council elections have been pressed today, and the final numbers are as follows:
Labor: 22
Liberal: 7
National: 3
Legalise Cannabis: 2
Greens: 1
Daylight Savings: 1
Given that Labor holds 22/36 seats, it now holds a majority for the first time in WA legislative history and can hopefully make some well due reforms with these numbers. I’m holding out hope they do well with this.
Mainly because I’m in Victoria which is the only state left that shares the same current upper house voting system that WA has, and I really don’t like how it is, with it all coming down to the Kingmaker Glenn Duery, so I’d look forward to a successful reform that doesn’t result in ridiculous results like a Member of the Legislative Council being elected on 0.2% of the vote.
Is this the standard set by the “Cabinet Women’s Taskforce”?.
Why wouldn’t the CrimeMinister be comfortable with this? After all his wife made the same sign when she was photographed with Meghan and Harry – on her daughter’s wrist!!!
Someone said it wasn’t the white power sign because it was upside down. Well, it doesn’t matter what way up it is, as demonstrated here by the Christchurch bomber.
And here by a US cadet –
We ‘normies’ sucked in miserably in by ‘the trolls’ re OK symbol.
.
“This is their trick: they are hoping journalists will uncritically look at the OK symbol, find these infographics that claim it stands for white power and then write about it. The trolls have a laugh when the journalists are fooled,”
They circulate the content online through social media, leaving it out as bait for undiscerning journalists who perpetuate the hoax by writing about it as if it is an authentic hate-threat
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/oct/03/ok-sign-gesture-emoji-rightwing-alt-right
I don’t know whether or not the “fooling the media” story is just a journalistic attempt to make this sign normal again but what I do know is it is now best to avoid using it.
We have all seen the photos of Obama, Rudd and others making this sign – taken totally out of context – to persuade us it is perfectly innocent to use it or, depending on the bias of the commentator, to persuade us even former PMs and black men can be racist.
What we cannot avoid is the unpleasant connotation this once harmless gesture now has.
If you want to be thought of as a white supremacist, a QAnon follower or a fascist then go ahead and use it.
The Herald Sun ran this story as an Andrew Bolt piece in 2018 and conveniently cropped it so Stoker was not shown.
https://www.heraldsun.com.au/blogs/andrew-bolt/labor-outrage-ok-not-ok/news-story/c97018368ca046522879910020caa468
The Australian media- even the Murdoch rags – knew ages ago about the unpleasant meanings this sign has.
Good morning Dawn Patrollers
The idea of our national government setting out to transform society and the economy has been in various forms of retreat for most of this century, bemoans an unimpressed Shaun Carney.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/lowering-the-bar-do-we-no-longer-expect-the-government-do-big-things-20210406-p57gri.html
In an interesting contribution, Paul Kelly writes, “During the campaign Donald Trump mocked Biden as “Sleepy Joe”, but the joke is on Trump. Biden asserts the idea of a historical turning point in his rapid response — his mission is to “rebuild the middle class” post-pandemic and prove that democratic America can out-compete autocratic China in what he sees as a global ideological confrontation.”
https://www.theaustralian.com.au/commentary/joe-biden-casts-the-die-on-a-progressive-revolution/news-story/6a1125fab100694072618a59f1c45d39
For decades, prime ministers like John Howard, Malcolm Turnbull and Scott Morrison have told us lower corporate taxes would be our ticket to economic prosperity. But those views are now under pressure as the world’s largest economy looks to reset the debate about how corporations pay their fair share of tax, explains Matthew Elmas.
https://thenewdaily.com.au/finance/finance-news/2021/04/06/corporate-taxation-joe-biden/
Immigration authorities are exploring plans to open up to Singapore within months, followed by other nations such as Fiji, Vietnam, Thailand and Japan.
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/asian-holidays-on-the-cards-by-winter-as-australia-looks-to-open-other-travel-bubbles-20210406-p57gyu.html
Shane Wright continues his detailed look at the RBA whose policy directives have not been reviewed for forty years.
https://www.theage.com.au/politics/federal/crucial-but-not-beyond-reproach-labor-joins-calls-for-review-of-rba-20210316-p57b2i.html
Kate Aubusson writes that Australians vaccinated with the AstraZeneca vaccine have a 50 per cent chance of developing mild side effects, and one in four will need to take time off work, study, or their daily responsibilities after getting their first dose. The tabloid media will lap this up! And bear in mind that this comes from voluntary survey responses.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/one-in-two-given-astrazeneca-vaccine-report-mild-side-effects-20210406-p57gu8.html
Aged care workers who have received their first dose of the Pfizer vaccine are being turned away when trying to get their second shot, with some doctors being told there is no record of them being inoculated, reports Melissa Cunningham. It’s a clusterf**k with many facets!
https://www.theage.com.au/national/it-s-like-we-don-t-exist-aged-care-workers-denied-second-pfizer-shot-20210406-p57gsk.html
Samantha Dick explores the consequences of a botched coronavirus vaccine rollout.
https://thenewdaily.com.au/news/coronavirus/2021/04/06/vaccine-rollout-failure-effect/
Paul Karp reports that the European Union has denied blocking shipments of 3.1m doses of AstraZeneca’s Covid-19 vaccine from going to Australia, contradicting Scott Morrison’s claim that international supply issues were to blame for missing rollout targets.
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2021/apr/06/scott-morrison-blames-international-supply-for-slow-covid-vaccine-rollout
Credit Suisse is attempting to recover billions of dollars for more than 1000 investors who sunk money into GFG invoices packaged into bonds by Greensill. This action puts the Whyalla steel works at risk.
https://www.afr.com/companies/financial-services/credit-suisse-tries-to-wind-up-whyalla-steelworks-20210406-p57gsm
Former Finance Department deputy secretary, Steven Bartos, says that almost every public servant who interacts regularly with a minister’s office has observed or heard about bad behaviour by ministerial staffers. Some will even have seen unacceptable workplace behaviours by ministers themselves. Instances of bullying, harassment and verbal abuse are commonplace.
https://www.canberratimes.com.au/story/7188868/public-servants-are-all-too-aware-of-staffers-bad-behaviour/?cs=14350
When your back’s against the wall, attack is not necessarily the best means of defence. With this in mind, the word from Scott Morrison to his ministers is, lay off the states, writes Michelle Grattan.
https://theconversation.com/view-from-the-hill-morrison-to-ministers-dont-stir-the-states-158460
Anthony Galloway reports that senior Australian diplomats, including United States ambassador Arthur Sinodinos, have been caught up in a sophisticated identity theft scam in which cyber attackers impersonated them on encrypted messaging services Whatsapp and Telegram in a bid to get sensitive information from their contacts.
https://www.theage.com.au/politics/federal/contact-books-of-australian-diplomats-hacked-in-major-phishing-scam-20210406-p57gte.html
The delightful Amanda Stoker has taken another swipe at Australian of the Year Grace Tame, who blasted the Queensland senator’s cabinet promotion.
https://thenewdaily.com.au/news/politics/australian-politics/2021/04/06/amanda-stoker-grace-tame/
The Victorian government has been forced to hand over secret details of an MOU, signed by the Premier in 2017, which came to light after the state was compelled to provide the documents under veto laws.
https://www.theage.com.au/politics/victoria/victoria-s-secret-agreement-with-china-faces-federal-government-scrutiny-20210406-p57grs.html
Christine Holgate has come out swinging!
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/the-most-harrowing-10-days-of-my-career-holgate-breaks-silence-over-australia-post-watch-saga-20210323-p57d5e.html
Alexandra Smith tells us how Malcolm Turnbull’s new role was ended before it even began.
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/nsw/how-turnbull-s-new-role-was-ended-before-it-even-began-20210406-p57gxx.html
Malcolm Turnbull has the right vision but once again tricky politics got in the way, say climate specialists Frank Jotzo and Mark Howden.
https://www.smh.com.au/environment/climate-change/malcolm-turnbull-has-the-right-vision-but-once-again-tricky-politics-got-in-the-way-20210406-p57gy4.html
And Peter Hannam writes about Turnbull blaming the “thuggish” media beat-up for his dumping from the NSW climate role.
https://www.theage.com.au/environment/climate-change/thuggery-turnbull-blames-media-beat-up-for-dumping-from-climate-role-20210406-p57gs9.html
Prices for carbon offsets could more than double by 2030 but demand may be hit as pressure builds on companies to cut their own emissions instead, writes Angela Macdonald-Smith.
https://www.afr.com/policy/energy-and-climate/australian-carbon-prices-tipped-to-double-by-2030-20210406-p57gu2
And Sue Mitchell tells us that prices are set to rise on products ranging from imported food to clothing, footwear, furniture, hardware and toys following a surge in shipping costs.
https://www.afr.com/companies/retail/retailers-set-to-raise-prices-as-shipping-commodity-costs-soar-20210404-p57ggv
John Lord writes about our democracy, telling us what needs to be fixed and why.
https://theaimn.com/our-democracy-what-needs-to-be-fixed-and-why/
Ben Butler writes that staff are saying the culture inside Australia’s banks has not improved in the two years since an overhaul of the scandal-prone sector was recommended by a royal commission.
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2021/apr/07/worse-than-ever-australian-bank-culture-has-not-improved-since-royal-commission-staff-say
According to Luke Henriques-Gomes, Services Australia has been criticised by a government watchdog for continuing to recoup money from welfare recipients through its botched robodebt scheme after it had admitted the program was unlawful.
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2021/apr/07/federal-government-criticised-for-continuing-robodebt-after-admitting-it-was-unlawful
Angus Thompson reveals that land values around Sydney’s new airport soared dramatically even before the land was rezoned, with some properties increasing by almost 250 per cent ahead of planning overhauls.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/land-values-around-sydney-s-new-airport-soared-dramatically-ahead-of-rezonings-20210406-p57gy7.html
China is provoking every country in its region. But that is no reason to cut off all contact, including scientific engagement, especially if we want to avoid war. Brian Toohey investigates another sphere in which academic freedom is being restricted by government.
https://www.michaelwest.com.au/group-of-eight-universities-concede-to-asio-restrict-vital-research-engagement-with-china/
Thirty years on from the royal commission, Anthony Dillon sets the record straight on aboriginal deaths in custody.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/thirty-years-on-from-the-royal-commission-let-s-set-the-record-straight-on-deaths-in-custody-20210405-p57gp8.html
Erin Pearson says that the prosecution of a Melbourne man who is the first person to be charged under Australia’s foreign interference laws will be delayed as police sift through a mountain of evidence, including hours of intercepted communications and secret recordings.
https://www.theage.com.au/national/factory-bugged-in-case-of-first-person-charged-under-foreign-interference-laws-20210406-p57gxn.html
Tech giants like Facebook and Google will find it even harder to book their profits in low tax “havens”, now that the Biden administration is supporting a global minimum tax.
https://www.afr.com/companies/financial-services/covid-is-changing-the-tax-rules-for-large-multinationals-20210406-p57gsd
John Collett writes that a new report has found fewer than 190,000 people age 70 or over have more than $500,000 in super.
https://www.smh.com.au/money/super-and-retirement/asfa-says-most-retirees-exhaust-their-super-savings-20210401-p57fxx.html
Shane Wright and Jennifer Duke report that the IMF has sharply upgraded its forecasts for Australia, and the rest of the world, predicting a much stronger recovery from the coronavirus recession.
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/australia-economy-roaring-back-from-virus-says-imf-20210406-p57gxb.html
Federal MPs are often accused of being out of touch and trapped inside the Canberra bubble. But it’s become apparent that there’s one aspect of the real world they remain acutely aware of – how to cash in on the property boom.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/mps-rush-to-the-market-as-property-runs-hot-20210406-p57gyy.html
Elizabeth Knight tells us that James Packer has stepped out of the shadows to put his Crown stake on the block.
https://www.smh.com.au/business/companies/packer-steps-out-of-the-shadows-to-put-his-crown-stake-on-the-block-20210406-p57gxk.html
Anyone shocked by the insurrection at the Capitol on January 6 will find recent comments posted on Fox News articles enlightening, explains Steve Bishop.
https://independentaustralia.net/politics/politics-display/post-capitol-attack-the-threat-of-violence-haunts-trigger-happy-us,14958
These guys are clearly worthy of nomination for “Arseholes of the Week”.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/four-men-injured-after-alleged-road-rage-spree-along-major-sydney-road-20210406-p57gq3.html
Cartoon Corner
David Pope
Andrew Dyson
John Shakespeare
Cathy Wilcox
Matt Golding
Simon Letch
Mark David
David Rowe
Fiona Katauskas
Mark Knight
John Spooner
From the US
The plan to blame the catastrophic vaccine rollout on the EU didn’t work. All it achieved was getting the EU off side and will probably result in real cancelled vaccine deals.
I would not blame or criticise the EU if they just washed their hands of Australia, cancelled all vaccine deliveries, including the Pfizer supplies that are supposed to trickle in until the end of the year and left us to produce all the supplies we need.
So what lie has the CrimeMinister thought up for today? Or will he just go back under his doona and deny he ever said the EU had cancelled shipments for 3.1 million doses of AZ vaccine?
And what about David Little-to-be-proud-of who also told the same lie yesterday?
I notice that there is no transcript of yesterday’s presser containing that lie available on the CrimeMinister’s web page, even though transcripts are usually there by the end of the day. Is it being “edited”? Would not be the first time.
John Collett’s report that 80% of retirees exhaust their super 4 years before their death looks like a lobby group, Mercer, wants to tinker with a sidecar.
The older you are the more super you withdraw each year. so
upto 65 withdraw 4% of balance
65 – 75 withdraw 5%
—-
age 94 withdraw 14%
==> super is designed to expire when you do
That 80% of people over 60 had exhausted their super would be due to their low super balances because of low paid work and loss of work over age 50.
Those people rendered long term unemployed access their super from their preservation age then shift to age pension at age 67
The damning statistics that highlight our social inequality are
60% of over 70s have 0 super, ie 1,700,000 people
185,000 have super balance $500,000+
27,000 have super balance $2,000,000+
https://www.smh.com.au/money/super-and-retirement/asfa-says-most-retirees-exhaust-their-super-savings-20210401-p57fxx.html
Rod Myer’s report is easier to understand
https://thenewdaily.com.au/finance/superannuation/2021/04/06/retirees-no-super-asfa/
He forgets to mention that many of those over 70 had no super to begin with or had accumulated very little during their working lives. .
Superannuation payments did not become mandatory until 1992, before then few employers demanded employees join a fund. It was only those who were bank employees, teachers, public servants etc who contributed to a superannuation scheme,
Those who worked for lower wages or were casual workers or women who opted out of the workforce to raise their children did not set aside super. When they reached retirement age they relied only on the Age Pension.
I paid super, but when I retired in 1974 to be a stay-at-home mum, intending to go back to work once all the kids were at school, I was given the option of taking whatever had accumulated, so I did. That money was used to help buy a home. Due to unhappy events I was left with nothing 10 years later.
This inconvenient fact – Australians have not always had superannuation – is always overlooked by economists and journalists keen to twist the truth for their own advantage
To be fair I bowlderised the report that had a carefully worded sentence that said not all people had the opportunity to accumulate super over their whole working lives, implying working life from 18 to 60+
As 62% of workforce is increasingly casualised the opportunity to accumulate super reduces
There is a frightening number of financial advisors and accountants feasting on 27,000 people’s super, I would think there are 27,000 financial advisors
The CrimeMinister and Murphy are tying themselves into knots with their lies
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/live/2021/apr/07/australia-news-live-vaccine-astrazeneca-scott-morrison-european-union-women-domestic-violence#comments
Geez all today’s spin is making me dizzy!
The 3.1 million doses that never arrived were vitally important, the reason the rollout had failed to achieve the 4 million doses given by the end of March target according to yesterday’s spin but were not factored into the rollout at all according to today’s lies.
So what are we supposed to believe? Were they part of that mythical “4 million doses given by the end of March” claim or were they not part of that claim? Did achieving that number depend on arrivals of imported AstraZeneca vaccine or did it not?
No matter how much you spin you simply cannot claim one thing one day and the complete opposite the next and still expect to be believed both times.
Yesterday –
And today –
But in the same presser the CrimeMinister claimed the 1 million doses he had promised PNG were in jeopardy because those 3.1 million doses had not arrived.
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/live/2021/apr/07/australia-news-live-vaccine-astrazeneca-scott-morrison-european-union-women-domestic-violence?page=with:block-606cffea8f087dc3964a17fc#liveblog-navigation
Oh what a tangled web we weave when first we practice to deceive!
Yeah, that’ll happen!
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/live/2021/apr/07/australia-news-live-vaccine-astrazeneca-scott-morrison-european-union-women-domestic-violence#comments
Caveats!
Stephen Colbert –
Jimmy Kimmel –
Rachel Maddow –
Chris Hayes –
Grunt continuing the lies of Murphy and Morrison
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/live/2021/apr/07/australia-news-live-vaccine-astrazeneca-scott-morrison-european-union-women-domestic-violence#comments
This will never happen – the government is too deep into the lies and the CrimeMinister’s natural inclination is always to tell more lies and attempt to spin himself out of the mess he has created.
Billie,
The mid-breast placement of those 2 black buttons on Minister Payne’s jacket is *ahem* unfortunate …
TGA telling it like it is
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/live/2021/apr/07/australia-news-live-vaccine-astrazeneca-scott-morrison-european-union-women-domestic-violence#comments
Chapter and verse
Interesting take by latingle
https://www.abc.net.au/7.30/laura-tingle-discusses-australia-post-watch-scandal/12841108
Seems Ms Holgate offered to “resign” but was never taken up on her offer.
I don’t understand the obligatory ‘both sides of politics’ comments. How has Labor played politics with Aust Post? Do I tune out about anything Labor does and miss it?
I don’t think I have ever seen a woman with less personality than Marise Payne: she is a cardboard pastiche of something or other.
Breath holding not recommended
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2021/apr/07/brittany-higgins-afp-investigation-australian-federal-police-five-officers
Read on, dear reader, and you will see exactly where this is (not) going.
F.M –
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/apr/07/the-expectation-people-should-respond-to-work-calls-texts-and-emails-out-of-hours-is-ridiculous
Good morning Dawn Patrollers
A frustrated John Hewson writes that Barnaby Joyce’s latest antics do nothing to move Australia forward.
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/barnaby-joyce-s-latest-antics-do-nothing-to-move-australia-forward-20210407-p57h52.html
Shane Wright concludes his three part review of our economy, saying that the sharp lift in house prices through the past year has amplified the focus on the RBA and its role.
https://www.theage.com.au/politics/federal/last-kick-of-the-can-property-market-reckoning-coming-20210317-p57bfc.html
China’s ambassador to Australia has told Canberra to stop criticising the country over human rights abuses in Xinjiang, saying nations should know Beijing will respond, writes Anthony Galloway.
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/if-we-are-provoked-we-will-respond-china-goes-on-offensive-over-treatment-of-uighurs-20210407-p57h6p.html
With the government on the ropes, Anthony Albanese has a fighting chance, opines Frank Bongiorno.
https://theconversation.com/with-the-government-on-the-ropes-anthony-albanese-has-a-fighting-chance-158129
The editorial in the SMH says that it is a good time to reconsider the RBA’s role in light of the persistence of very low inflation and zero interest rates.
https://www.smh.com.au/business/the-economy/rba-review-could-look-at-ways-to-avert-the-next-crisis-20210407-p57h6b.html
The successor to JobKeeper can’t do its job. There’s an urgent need for JobMaker II, argue three economists in The Conversation.
https://theconversation.com/the-successor-to-jobkeeper-cant-do-its-job-theres-an-urgent-need-for-jobmaker-ii-158391
The UK and US botched the COVID fight but got it right on vaccines. Australia has done the opposite, argues Shaun Carney.
https://www.theage.com.au/national/lowering-the-bar-do-we-no-longer-expect-the-government-do-big-things-20210406-p57gri.html
It appears increasingly likely that the AstraZeneca vaccine may cause a new rare clotting condition. As experts work out how to treat and prevent it, Australia needs to accept its obligation to care for the few people who may be harmed in pursuit of the public good, argue professors Julie Leask and Ian Kerridge.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/clotting-case-shows-we-need-compensation-scheme-for-vaccine-injuries-20210407-p57h7n.html
The Canberra Times editorial simply says that the vaccine roll-out is taking too long.
https://www.canberratimes.com.au/story/7198299/virus-vaccine-rollout-is-taking-too-long/?cs=14258
Scott Morrison insists he is merely setting out the simple facts. But his lengthy recitation of the reasons why the supply of vaccines is delayed is all about dealing with perception, says Jennifer Hewett who is not at all taken in by him.
https://www.afr.com/policy/health-and-education/pm-s-facts-lose-their-political-currency-20210407-p57h7f
Meanwhile, the vaccine developed by the University of Queensland was derailed in December, but the research team have re-engineered it with promising early data.
https://www.afr.com/policy/health-and-education/australia-s-home-grown-vaccine-making-a-comeback-20210407-p57h7v
Josh Butler fact-checks the government’s vaccine spin and promises.
https://thenewdaily.com.au/news/2021/04/08/vaccine-rollout-fact-check/
Nearly two-thirds of young men want a vaccine as soon as it’s available, but for women aged 18-24 the figure is less than 50 per cent. Bloody hell!
https://www.afr.com/politics/federal/young-women-most-reluctant-to-get-covid-19-jab-study-finds-20210407-p57h79
Christopher Knaus reports that doctors have urged the Australian government to provide greater certainty on vaccine supply, stating they continue to be frustrated by delivery delays and insufficient stock.
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2021/apr/08/australian-doctors-urge-government-to-give-greater-certainty-on-covid-vaccines
As international travellers return to Melbourne, will it be third time lucky for Victoria’s controversial hotel quarantine system, wonders Professor Michael Toole.
https://theconversation.com/as-international-travellers-return-to-melbourne-will-it-be-third-time-lucky-for-victorias-controversial-hotel-quarantine-system-158419
Emails obtained by The Age show that some doctors employed by Healthcare Australia – which provides clinical services at most of the state’s quarantine hotels – have been working in second jobs, which was banned by the state government in an effort to minimise transmission of COVID-19.
https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/quarantine-hotel-doctors-working-at-more-than-one-site-20210407-p57has.html
Whenever the chance to advocate for higher wages arises, the Morrison government declines, writes Greg Jericho. He says the government and business groups say they want stronger wage growth, but they never do anything that would actually see wages really grow.
https://www.theguardian.com/business/grogonomics/2021/apr/08/whenever-the-chance-to-advocate-for-higher-wages-arises-the-morrison-government-declines
A rise in the minimum wage won’t hurt Australia’s recovery. It will help it, argues Alison Pennington.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/apr/07/a-rise-in-the-minimum-wage-wont-hurt-australias-recovery-it-will-help-it
It takes a particular kind of gutlessness for the federal government to push for no real increase in wages without being game to say it. That’s what the 109-page government submission to the Fair Work Commission boils down to – nudge nudge, wink wink, let’s have another stuff-all minimum wage increase that also impacts a couple of million workers on awards, says Michael Pascoe.
https://thenewdaily.com.au/finance/2021/04/07/michael-pascoe-wages-austerity/
The banks have $178 billion sitting on deposit with the Reserve Bank, earning zero interest. It was $155 billion a month ago. This is newly created money. In crude terms, the RBA is “printing” money hand over fist, but why are the banks not lending it? Why is there no nation-building infrastructure program like the US? Michael West investigates.
https://www.michaelwest.com.au/psst-about-that-lazy-178-billion-the-banks-have-parked-at-the-reserve-bank/
Matthew Elmas tells us to brace for a budget squeeze as rising prices for petrol and groceries are making life more expensive after COVID-19.
https://thenewdaily.com.au/finance/finance-news/2021/04/08/budget-inflation-prices/
More from Elmas as he writes that a year-long bill paying binge ended in February as credit card debt spiked when government income support was wound back. He says new data released by the Reserve Bank on Wednesday shows credit card debt increased by $18.4 million over the month, despite the value of purchases and number of outstanding accounts falling.
https://thenewdaily.com.au/finance/finance-news/2021/04/07/credit-card-debt-super/
Poor management of Australia’s broadband network has resulted in a problem that the Government won’t fix and has left consumers paying for it, writes Paul Budde.
https://independentaustralia.net/politics/politics-display/paul-budde-broadband-users-will-pay-for-failed-nbn-policies,14960
According to Alexandra Smith, a group of jumpy NSW backbenchers has succeeded in defying cabinet, humiliating Matt Kean and dumping Malcolm Turnbull from a new clean energy role.
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/nsw/turnbull-s-fate-sealed-by-skittish-backbenchers-20210407-p57h7e.html
Richard Mulgan unloads on this government’s arrogant responses to examination by Senate committees.
https://www.canberratimes.com.au/story/7186978/the-governments-response-could-not-have-been-more-arrogant/?cs=14329
And similarly, proposed changes to boost the nation’s critical infrastructure laws will remove key oversight functions regarding decisions made by senior figures in Home Affairs and the Australian Signals Directorate, the government watchdog has warned.
https://www.canberratimes.com.au/story/7196860/govt-wants-to-remove-key-oversight-functions-for-home-affairs-asd/?cs=14350
David Crowe tells us that Anne Ruston and her state counterparts have agreed on July dates for the summit to shape a new national plan to prevent violence against women and children.
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/date-set-for-women-s-summit-to-stop-the-rot-of-domestic-violence-20210407-p57hbc.html
Jess Irvine reckons fixing childcare would be a start on the PM’s women problem.
https://www.smh.com.au/business/the-economy/fixing-childcare-would-be-a-start-on-pm-s-women-problem-20210407-p57h5e.html
Katina Curtis reports that more than 230 domestic violence services are asking the nation’s women’s safety ministers to give them a decisive funding boost as they face a massive increase in demand that is not subduing.
https://www.theage.com.au/politics/federal/pandemic-s-domestic-violence-spike-has-not-subsided-20210406-p57gui.html
New legislation aimed at knocking underperforming superannuation funds out of the market could leave the most vulnerable Australians at the mercy of unscrupulous fund promoters, the Senate Economics Legislation Committee has heard.
https://thenewdaily.com.au/finance/superannuation/2021/04/07/super-legislation-downside/
Victorian senator Kim Carr is “on death row”, Labor powerbrokers say, but the veteran left-wing warrior has vowed to fight for his career and is being backed by one of the state’s most powerful union leaders.
https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/veteran-labor-senator-kim-carr-on-death-row-but-vows-to-fight-on-20210407-p57ha1.html
Base rates for new leases have fallen by up to 20 per cent but big chains are pushing for turnover-based rents and resisting landlords’ claims for online sales. The AFR says that the retailers are winning the war.
https://www.afr.com/companies/retail/golden-days-are-over-retailers-win-battle-as-rents-reset-20210406-p57gxw
Australian exporters are defying Chinese trade bans, limiting the damage of Beijing’s punitive economic campaign by finding new markets for almost all affected products, writes Ben Packham in The Australian.
https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/politics/sanctions-fail-exporters-defy-chinese-trade-bans/news-story/7f94d7c4937af7682e4ecd275093ae5e
The owner of the Whyalla steel mill, Sanjay Gupta, says it is close to sealing a refinancing deal that may quell a push by creditor Credit Suisse to place it in liquidation.
https://www.smh.com.au/business/companies/whyalla-owner-races-towards-refinancing-to-stave-off-credit-suisse-liquidation-push-20210407-p57h4x.html
Lydia Lynch reports that the AEC is investigating whether numerous Facebook pages allegedly run by besieged Queensland MP Andrew Laming breached the Electoral Act, as they did not include political authorisation disclosures. The guy is a fool.
https://www.theage.com.au/politics/federal/electoral-watchdog-to-investigate-andrew-laming-s-facebook-pages-20210407-p57h61.html
And Now Sarah Martin reveals that Laming awarded a $550,000 grant to a rugby club with links to one of his staff members as part of the government’s controversial female sports facilities grants program.
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2021/apr/08/liberal-mp-andrew-laming-awarded-550000-grant-to-rugby-club-linked-to-his-staffer
The vaccine rollout in Papua New Guinea will require overcoming huge logistical hurdles, but there’s a second looming health crisis and that is tuberculosis.
https://www.smh.com.au/business/companies/whyalla-owner-races-towards-refinancing-to-stave-off-credit-suisse-liquidation-push-20210407-p57h4x.html
China’s development of a central bank-issued digital version of its currency is gathering pace and could pose a long-term threat to US dollar dominance, explains Stephen Bartholomeusz.
https://www.smh.com.au/business/banking-and-finance/while-the-world-dithers-china-prepares-to-unleash-a-digital-currency-20210407-p57h59.html
The Philippines is considering expelling a Chinese diplomatic spokesman in Manila in the latest twist of a new dispute over the South China Sea, writes Chris Barrett.
https://www.theage.com.au/world/asia/pushing-the-limits-of-covid-diplomacy-philippines-threatens-to-expel-chinese-official-20210407-p57h65.html
In the US, Joe Biden is backing the unions. Britain can only look on in envy, says Martin Kettle.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/apr/07/us-joe-biden-unions-britain-uk-political-leader-covid
Trump’s White House leaked like a sieve, but things have changed explains the Washington Post’s Paul Farhi.
https://www.theage.com.au/world/north-america/trump-s-white-house-leaked-like-a-sieve-things-have-changed-20210407-p57h0n.html
Cartoon Corner
Matt Golding is in fine form today!
David Rowe
Cathy Wilcox
Andrew Dyson
Peter Broelman
Glen Le Lievre
Mark Knight
Johannes Leak just can’t help himself
Alan Moir
John Shakespeare
From the US
The ‘early contenders’ look soooo ‘modern Labor’ .A think tanker and another lawyer . Just what parliament znd Labor needs more of 😦
Kaffeeklatscher,
Josh Bornstein would make a superb senator.
Fiona – I agree.
The nutters who work for Murdoch are up in arms, frantically tweeting ancient dirt . PvO, staunch defender of his mate Porter, and that worm Troy Bramston seem to be leading the pack.
Apparently Bornstein once called someone a muppet (haven’t we all done that?) and asked an annoying female if she had lost her chew toy. For those crimes he is, apparently, unfit to be in the Senate but Porter continuing to be a minister is perfectly fine.
Telling it as it is(n’t)
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/live/2021/apr/08/australia-news-live-international-flights-victoria-federal-parliament-scott-morrison-women-astrazeneca-vaccine-covid-coronavirus-blood-clots-pfizer-aged-care
Wise words on the up-coming NSW Upper Hunter by-election –
I’d also be doing something to fix the terrible air pollution from mining affecting most of the area.
Despite what Coal Fitzgibbon says the Hunter Valley is a lot more than coal mines. It contains some of the best farmland in NSW – the really top notch area, the Liverpool Plains, is also under threat of being turned into a mine. Australia should be protecting our scarce farmlands, not turning them into huge holes in the ground and pandering to overseas-owned mining companies.
More lies –
Hands up all those who thought Australia’s supply of AstraZeneca vaccine came from Europe.
The media told us that, the CrimneMiniuster blamed the botched rollout on the EU, Grunt said so, everyone believed it, right?
Well, they would be wrong.
All that blather about vaccine coming from Germany or Italy or somewhere else in Europe, or as the CrimeMinister cagily said, “overseas” turned out to be lies.
The AZ vaccine Australia has received so far came from the UK but that information was “withheld” (aka lied about) for political reasons, mostly to protect Boris Johnson from becoming involved in controversy over vaccine supplies in the UK..
It gets worse – there are some interesting comments in this article about the EU ban on AZ vaccine from Italy – not exactly the reasons Australians were given – and on just how much of this vaccine Australia has really received.
More than 700,000 AstraZeneca doses secretly flown to Australia from Britain
https://www.smh.com.au/world/europe/more-than-700-000-astrazeneca-doses-secretly-flown-to-australia-from-britain-20210407-p57hcl.html
The Chaser has a go at Dutton.
Guy that laughed about Pacific Islands sinking suddenly not keen on mean jokes
https://chaser.com.au/national/guy-that-laughed-about-pacific-islands-sinking-suddenly-doesnt-like-mean-jokes/
Excellent explanation of what Stuart Robert wanted to do to the NDIS and about his highly flawed legislation.
He wants to have a robodebt system introduced for the NDIS, intended only to claw back funding from people with disabilities!!!
Linda Reynolds, the new minister for the NDIS, is refusing to comment.
https://7ampodcast.com.au/episodes/the-new-god-power-that-will-upend-the-ndis
On the matter of sex workers being paid for by the NDIS – Robert and his so-called “Christian” mates should watch an excellent move called “The Sessions” starring Helen Hunt and John Hawkes, which deals very sensitively with sex for people with severe disabilities.