Campaspe Shire Council, including (from left) Mayor Daniel Mackrell, Cr Paul Jarman, Cr Tony Marwood and deputy Mayor Jessica Mitchell, has called on state and federal governments to help give Rochester its pool back. Photo: Supplied.
The site is secured, the blueprints are finalised and the price tag is locked in — but for Rochester residents, the $12.9 million dream of a new aquatic facility remains a paper promise.
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As the town farewells its fourth consecutive summer without a local place to cool off, a high-stakes game of funding chicken has broken out between three levels of government.
While Campaspe Shire Council has put $5 million on the table, another $7.9 million is needed, leaving the project’s future dangling on the state and federal budgets.
Mayor Daniel Mackrell said council had written to state and federal members to confirm the facility was “ready to progress” and ask for support from government partners to get the project over the line.
The tension reached the floor of the legislative council this month, with Northern Victoria members Rikkie-Lee Tyrrell and Wendy Lovell calling on the state to “step up”.
Ms Tyrrell raised the issue on Wednesday, March 4, with a question to Natural Disaster Recovery Minister Steve Dimopoulos.
She asked whether Mr Dimopoulos had met with Campaspe Shire Council about the pool replacement and sought his commitment to include funding in the 2025-26 budget.
“Campaspe Shire have already removed the old pool and have committed $5 million towards a brand-new replacement, and it’s time the state government stepped up and delivered for the Rochester community,” Ms Tyrrell said.
Mr Dimopoulos’ response came on March 17, when he said the matter fell within the portfolio of Community Sport Minister Ros Spence.
Campaspe Shire Council has endorsed the final Rochester Aquatic Facility Design. Pictured is a render of the facility by Jasmax.
Ms Lovell brought the topic back into the chamber on Wednesday, March 18, and directed an adjournment matter to Ms Spence.
She asked Ms Spence to throw money behind the project, explaining it had been the fourth summer that residents had spent without a local pool in which to cool down.
Ms Lovell also mentioned Treasurer Jaclyn Syme’s comments at an Echuca regional sitting in 2024, when she said the project was one she could get behind.
“Yet the last two state budgets have passed with not a single dollar for the Rochester pool,” Ms Lovell said.
“She has the ability to allocate this money and she has not.”
Ms Spence’s response to Ms Lovell is expected by April 17.
Following the release of the facility’s design, Campaspe News reached out to Federal Member for Bendigo Lisa Chesters’ office to see if she would be joining the push for a federal grant.
In response, Ms Chesters confirmed she had contacted Campaspe Shire Council to outline potential federal funding opportunities for local community infrastructure projects.
However, she did not say if she would advocate for the remaining funding gap for the Rochester aquatic facility.
Back in Campaspe, Cr Mackrell said the project was a clear case for government investment and he would welcome the support from local delegates.
“Council, in partnership with the community, has done the work to get this project ready, including extensive community engagement and adopting a detailed design,” he said.
“The Rochester community has been clear about the importance of restoring this facility following the devastating 2022 floods, and we look forward to positive responses from both levels of government so we can move ahead and deliver this important project for the region.”
