TIME is ticking for Black Saturday survivor Lee McGill, who has not rebuilt her destroyed home.
She has only a few weeks to apply for a maximum $50,000 grant to help with the cost of rebuilding, but everything seems stacked against the glass artist now renting in Whittlesea.
“I thought we would have built straight away but the site was steep, there was bush and so many problems,” she said.
The Flowerdale property she shared with partner Terry Ferguson was deemed a severe fire danger zone, and the couple spent tens of thousands of dollars on clearing and excavation, risk assessments and other work to meet rebuilding requirements, only to admit defeat.
They applied for the state government’s buy-back scheme. Approval took several months, and the money allowed them to buy a neighbouring property. Settlement was on December 22 but Ms McGill said she did not have paperwork for the title until mid-January.
To apply for the bushfire appeal fund’s “further housing assistance gift”, she needed rebuilding costs to be submitted this month, but said she could not have architects and builders on site until she had the title a few weeks ago.
Larry Challis of the Bushfire Recovery Committee said Ms McGill was not alone. “The buy-back scheme took a long time,” he said.
A bushfire appeal fund spokesman said they were committed to working with applicants “to achieve the best possible outcome that meets their housing needs”.
