A look back at my election campaign in 2013 will see that I talked about having flat-bottomed boats operating on the Murray at Albury. 

The biggest problem with the Cumberoona was its limited operating season because of the need to have over 1.9 m water depth in the river.

Flat-bottomed boats operate on the Yarra in Melbourne, the Swan River in Perth and on the Torrens in Adelaide and I am sure readers can cite plenty more examples.

Cities with rivers at their heart can be beautiful places and places like Paris and Vienna are wonderful examples. Here we have a wonderful river and the opportunity to see it up close and discover some of the wonderful birds and other animals, including platypus that can be seen.

We should thank the Knowles brothers and give them lots of encouragement.

It is interesting that the record of suffering and abuse in dog racing has inspired an immediate response from the NSW government.

Other examples of suffering and abuse such as human detention have not been regarded with equal gravity, which is why seeing the whole offshore detention policy in free-fall after the announcement of the closure of Manus Island makes such good sense.

The abuse of PNG by Australia in handballing our international responsibilities to a neighbour already compromised in areas of law and order and public health is matched by the curious lack of trust by the Turnbull Government in the Australian people, refusing to detail actions carried out in our name.

Peter Dutton may blame the ABC, The Guardian, churches and others but the greatest threat to the Australian spirit of a fair go and a helping hand – and our human rights record – comes from the federal government elected under the Southern Cross that the political right has renovated into a star chamber and an ethical dog’s breakfast.

I stand by the religious leaders who supposedly are “frightened into silence or gagged in their support of the love that dare not speak its name” (Peter Macleod-Miller, letters, The Border Mail, August 12).

These “religious leaders” are those who keep and do the commandments of God, and have the faith of Jesus.

AUSTRALIA is on track to have fewer gold medals than it achieved at the London Olympics in 2012.

This comes after the chef de mission Kitty Chiller said 15 to 16 gold in Rio would be achievable.

Was it worth putting a figure on the tally expected?

It appears to just add to the extreme pressure that our athletes are under and reinforces the clinical nature of sport these days.

For me the highlight of the Olympics is the unexpected gold medal win, the one all the ‘experts’ did not predict and even the winner thought unlikely.

That’s why I liked Kyle Chalmers powering to victory in the 100-metres freestyle when he was expected to be outshone by more fancied swimmers.

All of a sudden a teenager had his life changed in seconds and his joy was unadulterated.

One of sports biggest thrills is its unpredictability, not in reducing it to a business where key performance indicators substitute for sheer guts and determination.