Tamworth university campus group make statement to Education Minister Dan Tehan with his own quote

Earlier this week, the Tamworth University Reference Group travelled to Canberra to meet with Education Minister Dan Tehan, to put forward their case for a $10-million commitment for the University of New England's proposed 500-person campus.

Group member and Tamworth Business Chamber president Jye Segboer said if there were no "positive outcomes or messages" coming from the minister by the end of next month, they'll organise a meeting to ask why.

"We'll bring all three levels of government to the table along with UNE, to see what the blockades are," he said.

Fellow reference group member, Mitch Hanlon, said the group showed Mr Tehan it wasn't there to mess around - they presented a hefty document to the Education Minister, which had a quote from him in bold print on the front.

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"It said 'Every Australian, no matter where they live, should have access to Australia's world-leading higher education system'," Mr Hanlon said.

"[Mr Tehan] keep looking at it during the meeting."

The Education Minister told The Leader the group "put forward a very impressive presentation".

"This aligns with our government's commitment to supporting regional universities and vocational education providers, as well as closing the gap between students from regional, rural and remote Australia and those from metro areas," Mr Tehan said.

"We want to work with the NSW government to ensure that they provide the funding that they committed to this important project, and also see what our government can do to further support this project.

"While more than 45 per cent of people aged 25 to 34 in our major cities have a bachelor degree or higher, that number drops to just 21 per cent in our regions."

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