Surprise, surprise.

Does this mean the residents of Wodonga may have to wait another 30-40 years before their long awaited cinema finally comes to fruition, I hope not.

To add insult to injury the proposed cinema is to be replaced by a Dan Murphy's, as if we need another place to purchase alcohol.

There are already enough but as for entertainment this city, yes it's a city, is sorely lacking.

Thanks to The Border Mail for ventilating the issues around the renaming of QEII Square and removing the Lord's Prayer from the opening of each session of parliament in Victoria.

Both concepts swing on the realisation of time moving on and present realities which used both to be political imperatives.

Reassessment in the light of social change is an international phenomenon and the Victorian state parliament and the city of Albury are not the backwaters or time warps that the views of some of our politicians imply.

The MLC for northern Victoria sounds more as though she represents the Deep South.

Her description of the first and second testament clearly shows both her lack of familiarity with the Christian tradition from which the Lord's Prayer comes as well as her bracing ignorance of the the genesis of other religious traditions.

Both Bill Tilley's and the Nat's disparaging remarks on political priority and motivation are also unconvincing.

Fiona Patten is not a champion for "culture wars" but for faithfully acknowledging the diversity of the electorate and respecting contemporary realities.

It is the same logic that applies to the renaming of QEII Square.

It makes common sense in any forum but a museum, and honours both the community and religious traditions that look to the future rather than petrified in the past .

IN OTHER NEWS:

The understanding our most required and most precious commodity needs to be far clearer and far more important.

The value of the water that nature gives us in this changing climate must be treasured far more.

The high levels in the Hume Weir are a godsend for nearly all who rely on the stored water to farm and produce food and for towns and people to have a reliable useable source .

The cries to release early are by a few who sit in the flood zone and know the risk. Perhaps a review of the value of such land and how it is used is required. Maybe it is suitable for seasonal grazing that depend on the conditions. The stored water in the Hume Weir is what an ideal season gives for a secure time ahead for many.

There is a real need to have far more explained and taught about water and how it is traded and owned dispersed and who owns it. A Murray River Learning centre would be a good start and run by the MDBA at a Murray River location not from Canberra .

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