Member for Northern Tablelands Adam Marshall, councillors and senior staff of Moree Plains Shire held discussions with CUC chief executive officer Duncan Taylor on Tuesday (September 26) regarding the establishment of a CUC campus in Moree.

The CUC supports the establishment of affiliate centres in major NSW regional towns which otherwise lack suitable alternative local higher educational opportunities. These affiliate centres facilitate university study for local students in their own regional communities. Significant benefits flow to country areas through access to supported local higher education study.

CUC CEO Duncan Taylor believes North West NSW is the perfect location for a multi-campus CUC, with a campus in Moree being both a viable and an attractive proposition for his organisation.

Of itself, Moree had more students enrolled in full-time or part-time university or other tertiary institutions than other towns in the region including Goondiwindi and Narrabri (according to 2016 Census data).

Further, Moree acts as a service centre and catchment for a much broader area; including the Goondiwindi and Balonne Shires in Queensland as well as Bingara, Warialda, Narrabri, Wee Waa, Walgett and Lightning Ridge.

The NSW State Government recently allocated $8 million to set up five trial centres in NSW, with Goulburn and Broken Hill already getting the nod.

Mayor Cr Katrina Humphries said it would be a wonderful opportunity for Moree.

“Opportunity abounds and with determination and partnerships, we could have a study facility open here by first semester 2019,” she said. 

“We need your support.

“We are committed to ensuring that regional students are given the option to live at home close to their family and friends while undertaking tertiary education of their choice, rather than having to relocate for study which can both disruptive and expensive.

“Even though we have a lot of people already in Moree toiling away on tertiary education pursuits, there’s a real opportunity to give those people a lot more support.

“There’s also a lot of students and families who’ve put a university degree into the too-hard basket – because it’s too expensive to live away from home or the students don’t want to be too far from home. This model would provide a great opportunity for those students.

“And for some degrees, it would make perfect sense for those courses to be offered directly in Moree given the industries operating right here in our shire.”

Over the coming weeks, Moree will be reaching out to stakeholders in the shire and beyond to formalise the approach for the CUC campus.

This initiative sits well with the community’s desire to make the shire more liveable by exploring options in being innovative in how education is delivered within the Shire and supporting partnerships with universities, TAFE and community and vocational training to expand options in the Moree Plains, as detailed in council’s recently-adopted 10 Year Community Plan.

In furtherance of this, council has recently made a submission to the Federal Government’s Independent Review into Regional, Rural and Remote Education.

The Review held a public forum session last week in Narrabri, with representatives from the State and Catholic education sectors attending, as well as representatives from the Moree community and Moree Plains Shire Council.

For more information in relation to the Country Universities Centre, see www.cuc.org.au.