Police station remains on track

Last week, State Member for Northern Victoria Wendy Lovell claimed the recent budget raised doubts about the future of Rochester’s expected police station.

In the 23-24 Victorian budget, $1.3 million was allocated to replace critical police facilities in Rochester, with an expected completion date of mid-2025.

In the meantime, temporary portable units have been in place, with police telling Campaspe News in October 2023 that the units were expected to be in use for 18 months to two years until the new permanent station was completed.

However, in last week’s budget, funding for Rochester’s new station was folded into a larger fund for delivering new police station infrastructure statewide.

This larger statewide fund is expected to be completed one year later, which initially cast doubt on the timeline for completing the new Rochester station.

However, State Member for Northern Victoria Jaclyn Symes was able to get further clarification, confirming the building was still on track.