It is a trend that could reshape regional economies for decades to come. Record numbers of Australians are turning their backs on pandemic-hit big cities, taking advantage of being able to work from home, and relocating to commutable country towns and their lure of open space, fresh air and cheaper housing. This, in turn, is creating new jobs and business opportunities.

It would be a pity if in the rush to get workers back to the office the lessons learned from the forced working from home experiment were lost.

The genie is probably now out of the bottle in any case because the silver lining from the COVID-19 lockdown is that the potential of technology to change how and where we work has finally been realised.