On our

By Kath Gannaway
THE NINE-MONTH report released on Monday by the Victorian Bushfire Reconstruction and Recovery Authority details advances made since the devastating February fires.
Authority head Christine Nixon said the quarterly report showed significant progress.
Listing some of the steps made along the way Ms Nixon said more than 1085 building permits had been approved for houses, sheds and commercial buildings.
She said work had commenced on the $7 million Marysville community health, recreation learning hub and that, overall, more than $30 million and more than 600 free counselling and mentoring referrals had been provided to affected small businesses and primary producers.
The report stated that more than $660,000 had been spent on 137 community events which it said had been instrumental in bringing people together after the fires.
More than 1000 people continue to access material aid each week. Approximately 766 visits are made every week by bushfire-affected people to each of the Community Service Hubs that continue in some of the most affected areas.
Ms Nixon said significantly more activity would take place in bushfire-affected towns, as the $193 million Rebuilding Together Plan takes shape over the coming months.
“While work starts on the public and community buildings funded, and as businesses continue to re-open, we anticipate more people will make decisions around rebuilding their homes and moving back into their communities.”
For some now starting to rebuild however, the process is full of frustration.
There are calls from those directly affected, and from Nationals leader Peter Ryan for the government and VBRRA to review the rebuilding process and the planning and building regulations.
For those in the highest fire danger areas, the cost of rebuilding can be prohibitive and some areas such as windows are still waiting for approval under the Australian Standards.
Former builder Russell Joseph now consults directly with people in bushfire-affected areas as they wade through building applications.
He said new regulations introduced on 1 September had left some people planning to build with what he believed were onerous requirements which must now be met under building regulations.
Mr Joseph claimed some requirements which were previously under the ‘exempt’ planning requirements now came under building requirements and that they added many thousands of dollars to the cost.
The owner of a property burnt out on the Melba Highway told the Mail she was struggling with a process which, among other things required her to pay an up-front fee of $30,000 for power with a wait of up to eight months for connection.
She said the requirement for some people in rural areas to put in mandatory underground power would add tens of thousands of dollars to the cost.
The demand on builders and other tradespeople was also adding to the frustration.
“I have sent plans to five builders and only one has responded with a price,” she said.
“It’s incredibly disempowering and frustrating.”
Peter Ryan said there was still plenty of frustration and made the point that of the 1085 building permits issued over the past nine months, many were for sheds.
He said appropriate building materials had still not been approved to the new standards, making rebuilding impossible for some.
With the added costs involved many people simply could not afford to rebuild, he said.