There is the standard sniping about the need for a new inquiry into why remote and regional Australians are less inclined to engage in education than urbanites. But a lot has changed since the last one, back in the 90s, and why government investigating before spending is necessarily a bad thing eludes CMM. As Regional Universities Network chair Greg Hill puts it; the review can “lay the groundwork” for improvements in participation. “Not only does education enrich the lives of individuals, their families and communities, better educated regional Australians will help regional economies transition and diversify. It will benefit the nation as a whole,” he says.

But a learned regional reader, with two children who have had to move hundreds of kms from home to study law and medicine wonders, whether an inquiry is needed to identify the obvious. The biggest reason for lower levels of rural/regional university enrolments, she writes, is the $25 000 a year it costs families to feed and clothe kids on campuses far from home. “Simply put, a lot of regional folks on regional salaries can’t afford it especially as all aid/subsidies are based on financial need. The only financial support accessible to students depends on parents providing their CentreLink statements …… even then the financial subsidy wouldn’t keep kids above the poverty line.”