It is such a simple sentence: You can go to university in Kempsey. Yet it is one I've been dreaming of being able to say for more than a decade.
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In 2008 when I wrote my list of things to achieve for my time on council, education was part of that list.
For too long the idea of going to university meant leaving Kempsey. That's not good for anyone. Not for the community. Not for the many bright individuals who grow up here. It places an extra hurdle on an already difficult path for those who live here and want to continue their education.
How do they afford to move? How do they leave family and friends? Yes, many manage it. But too many others do not.
And those who do leave are far from guaranteed to return.
The result is a loss of too many of our brightest, and a loss of opportunity for too many others. No longer!
On Friday I joined our state member Melinda Pavey and our federal member Pat Conaghan in announcing that Kempsey will be home to a Country Universities Centre.
What does that mean? It means you can go to university in Kempsey. Not just to one university either, but to any Australian university. Or to any non-university higher education provider.
The Centre facilitates remote learning by giving the full student experience away from official campuses. It is an extraordinary idea that started in Cooma in 2013. They wanted a facility that helped local students stay local. It worked so well that the government got behind it and it spread across the state.
Now, Kempsey will get a centre with dedicated learning and study spaces. This means a student here in Kempsey will have the opportunity to build a network of like-minded fellow students and to take advantage of being part of a state-wide learning community.
I am so utterly thrilled that this dream has been achieved. Far more importantly, that more people in Kempsey who have a dream, can now fulfill that dream, right here at home.
