Victorian Nationals leader and Member for Murray Plains Peter Walsh said after years of campaigning, demanding, petitioning, pushing and never stopping, Rochester will split $26.78 million with Heathcote for the construction of its new CFA/SES state-of-the-art operations complex.
Mr Walsh said while it was incredibly overdue, the October 2022 floods had finally forced the Victorian Government to do something urgent about it.
The Nationals leader said the calls for a new CFA station were ignored by Premier Daniel Andrews until the floods left the local community with nowhere to go and the government with no more excuses.
“When we promised before the election to immediately meet with both the local CFA and SES to discuss the best-possible outcome for both groups, which might have meant a combined site, or each group in a different location it wasn’t just a campaign wish list item,” Mr Walsh said.
“This was a rock-solid guarantee, that both these vital, volunteer service groups get the facilities and the equipment they need to be effective in the years ahead.
“Their importance cannot be underestimated, and their work during the flood was further confirmation of their importance in the Rochester community.”
Mr Walsh said along with the Rochester community, he had been campaigning for a major rebuild of first responder facilities in Rochester for years.
“In just the past three years I had taken the fight to the floor of Parliament twice, gone through local media, my office team, who deal with the many calls and visits from locals on the subject, have used that information for me to send to everyone from the premier, to the relevant ministers and to the head offices of both organisations,’’ he said.
As well as fighting local fires and protecting its community, Rochester CFA has been a dedicated campaign brigade, sending many firefighters, year after year, to help other communities and regions under siege from bushfires.
“When you have a fire brigade operating at that level — volunteers prepared to put their lives on hold to help others — then they should be given all the assistance they need,” Mr Walsh said.
“The sum total of those years, those generations, of community commitment and service, was being left with a station so far past its use-by date its members didn’t even have anywhere to hang their turnout gear and valuable equipment has to be stored offsite because they simply can’t fit it in.
“Is that any way to say ‘thank you’ to people who not only give so much, but literally put their lives on the line on a regular basis? I don’t think so.
“And Rochester SES, like most of the town, went under in the most recent flood and we can’t afford risks like that in future emergencies, these groups need to be able to function at their maximum capacity, not be rushing around worrying about their own facilities.”