Rochester pool project poised for funding

After months of planning and consultation, Mr Mathieson said the groundwork had been completed, positioning the project strongly ahead of the state election.

“There's been a lot of work done to get to this point, and we’re at a really interesting part of the project at the moment, particularly in the lead-up to the state election,” he said.

“We're at a point where we can go to the government and say, this is what it's going to look like, this is how much it's going to cost, this is what the community told us, and we're ready to go. It is a shovel-ready project.”

Over the past four months, Mr Mathieson has met with state and federal representatives, as well as members of Victoria’s upper house, to build support for the project.

He said those discussions had been encouraging, with several offices requesting further information, including Community Sport Minister Ros Spence and Sport and Recreation Victoria.

While careful not to overstate progress, Mr Mathieson said he was optimistic about the project’s prospects.

“I don't want to overstate this, but I think we're in a pretty good space,” he said.

“Once we've got more of a handle on where the state is at, I think we can use that as leverage to go to the Federal Government and ask them for funding.

“I am quietly confident that we're in a good space to prosecute things further, rather than the state coming to us and saying we're not going to do this.”

Mr Mathieson was joined at the breakfast by Campaspe Shire Mayor Daniel Mackrell, council chief executive Pauline Gordon, director of communities Jo Bradshaw, Cr Paul Jarman and other council officers, who helped address questions from the community.

Community members raised queries about the pool’s design, how updates would be communicated, and how locals could stay involved as the project progresses.

Concerns were also heard about the economic impact on the local community, the risks associated with children missing out on swimming education, and the flow-on effects for school swimming programs without access to a local pool.

Mr Mathieson said the community’s concerns had been conveyed in his meetings with Victorian Government representatives.

“The other part of our narrative or our story to the government is, it’s not just a pool,” he said.

“It’s a community facility. It’s a place where people can gather. There’s that emotional overlay as well because of the floods.

“When I told that story to the politicians ... they understand that it’s almost like another piece of the puzzle of the recovery of Rochester.”

With conversations ongoing with the Victorian Government, the next steps will depend on the response.

In the meantime, the community is encouraged to engage with local members of parliament to support the project.