Kevin Spacey Returns Following Sexual Assault Accusation

Treasurer Jim Chalmers says Australia is well placed to avoid a recession; A woman accused of murdering her two young grandsons has faced court after being released from a mental health facility; The consideration of good character references for accused rapists will be restricted under major Queensland court reforms; Oscar-winning actor Kevin Spacey says it's "nice to be back" at an awards ceremony on the sidelines of the Cannes Film Festival.

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Host/Producer: Nicole Madigan

Audio Production: Lu Hill

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:10):
You're listening to a Mumamea podcast. Mumma Mea acknowledges the
traditional owners of land and waters that this podcast is
recorded on Hi. I'm Nicole Madigan from Mummamea's twice daily
news podcast, The Quickie with Your Headlines. For Wednesday May
twenty one, Treasurer Jim Chalmers says Australia is well placed

(00:33):
to avoid a recession even if Donald Trump's trade war
takes a turn for the worse. Forecasts released by the
Reserve Bank of Australia on Tuesday painted o bleak picture
of the economic blowback from a scenario where the world
descends into all out Taraffaws. Uncertainty was cited one hundred
and thirty two times in the Central Bank's quarterly economic update,

(00:56):
with forecasters forced to wargame different scenarios to help guide
the board's decision making. RBA Governor Michelle Bullock says the
scale and scope of the trade shock had blown the
bank completely out of the water, conceding there was a
chance Australia could tip into a recession, but Chalmers has
as shored Australians that an economic downturn was unlikely and

(01:19):
that his expectation was that the economy would continue to
grow and strengthen despite the global uncertainty. Mortgage holders can
be consoled by the promise of more raid cuts this
year if the Reserve Bank's baseline forecast is correct and
inflation and the economy grow more slowly than previously expected.
A woman accused of murdering her two young grandsons has

(01:42):
faced court after being released from a mental health facility.
Kathleen Joyce Heggs was set to appear in double local
court today on two counts of domestic violence murder. Her grandsons,
Max and Sam Johnson, aged just seven and six, were
found dead in their home on the outskirts of kunebarra
Brand in northwest New South Wales on May five. Two

(02:05):
junior police officers broke into the Emulane house after a
message sent to the community's and Justice department triggered an
emergency response. They found the boy's bodies in their bedrooms. Heggs,
their maternal grandmother, had harmed herself and was immediately arrested
and taken to a mental health unit. She was the
boy's sole career. The consideration of good character references for

(02:29):
accused rapists will be restricted under major Queensland court reforms,
but some advocates say it doesn't go far enough. The
changes introduced to Queensland Parliament this week are among the
recommendations made by a Queensland Sentencing Advisory Council report into
rape and sexual assault. The changes introduced to Queensland Parliament

(02:51):
this week are among the recommendations made by a Queensland
Sentencing Advisory Council report into rape and sexual assault. Good
character references from friends and families of accused rapists have
in the past been a consideration in a judge's decision
on the sentence. The report recommended that the use of
good character references, including evidence of the offenders standing and

(03:14):
contributions in the community, should be restricted in sentencing. Attorney
General deb Frecklington says no one wants to hear that
a rapist is an all round great person, a trustworthy mate,
or that they're respected in the community, especially not their victim.
The bill means good character references can only be used
as a mitigating factor if it's relevant to the offenders

(03:36):
prospects of rehabilitation or risk of offending, but advocates say
the laws should be strengthened so that courts don't give
any consideration to good character references in any circumstances. A
review of sentencing guidelines in New South Wales is also
currently underway, while good character references for child sex offenders
were removed in Tasmania in twenty sixteen, Oscar winning actor

(04:00):
Kevin Spacey says it's nice to be back at an
awards ceremony on the sidelines of the Canes Film Festival. Spacey,
who won Oscars for American Views and The Usual Suspects,
was one of Hollywood's biggest stars before he was first
accused of sexual assault in two thousand and seventeen. He
was then quickly dropped from the TV drama House of Cards.

(04:22):
In twenty twenty two, the now sixty five year old
was charged in Britain with nine sexual offenses against four
men between two thousand and four and two thousand and thirteen,
but was acquitted of all charges after a high profile
trial the following year. In the US, the actor defeated
a sexual abuse case against him in twenty twenty two

(04:42):
after jurors in a Manhattan civil trial found his accuser
didn't prove his claim that Spacey made an unwonted sexual
advance on him when he was fourteen. Basi was in
Cans to receive an award for Excellence in Film and
Television from the Better World Fund, which fund raises in
the name of cinematic art at the service of humanity,
at a charity gala dinner at the Carlton Hotel. He

(05:05):
was also at the festival to help sell his new
conspiracy action thriller The Away. Spacey still faces separate civil
lawsuits from three men for alleged sexual abuse in London
and is defending those cases. That's your latest news headlines
on tomorrow's episode of The Quickie. Ever heard of the
flying monkey theory. It's the term for people narcissists use

(05:28):
to do their dirty work. Listen to The Quickie wherever
you get your podcasts.