Ready for the long haul

By Kath Gannaway
MORE than 500 Marysville residents received assurances from the head of the Bushfire Reconstruction and Recovery Authority Christine Nixon on Saturday that the authority was in for the long haul in the rebuilding of Marysville.
The meeting was held at the Marysville Golf and Bowls Club and as Ms Nixon observed, for many it was the first time they had been back to Marysville since it was reopened to residents last week.
Deputy Commissioner of Victoria Police Kieran Walshe, Murrindindi Mayor, Cr Lyn Gunter, Federal Government Parliamentary Secretary for Victorian Bushfire Reconstruction Bill Shorten, McEwen MP Fran Bailey, and representatives of clean-up company Grocon fielded questions from residents and provided advice.
Mr Walshe said the DVI searches, required by the coroner, had been completed sooner than anticipated and said he was relieved to say no further human remains had been found.
He said temporary police facilities would be set up in Buxton and Marysville and that police had been rostered to the area.
He said in view of ongoing council concerns about the safety of some buildings, roads and pathways police would maintain the barriers to access to the general public.
“We have police rostered on until Monday, 30 March but I must reinforce that if the council comes and says there are no further concerns about safety we are obliged to lift the barriers,” he said.
Ms Nixon who is also on the committee for the Red Cross Bushfire Fund fielded questions from a number of people who owned holiday homes in the area and who were not, at this point, eligible for assistance.
She said the fund had reached $260 million, and the priority at this stage was for people who had lost their principal place of residence, the 400 or so people who had been renting and about 2000 people whose homes had been significantly damaged.
The committee was also aware of the other pressing needs of those who had lost sheds, fences and machinery and whose ability to maintain their livelihood had been impacted.
One woman said her family owned their house in Marysville but were renting in Melbourne while their children were at school.
They were not eligible for assistance as the Marysville house was not their principal place of business.
The ability of local contractors to work in the clean-up operation with Grocon was also an issue.
Resident Bruce Akerman called on the shire to get a course up and running locally so local contractors could get the qualifications they needed to undertake the work.
“This needs to be done immediately and it needs to be done locally so we can get our people working as soon as possible,” he said. Developer Graham Pope called for a blueprint for where the town might be in five years’ time.
“We have built seven shops in Marysville and for us to rebuild those shops is a very high commercial risk unless we know what future is; on the other hand we are right beside everyone in this community,” he said.
Ms Nixon told the residents the authority wanted to find a way forward which reflected all the different interets and people involved in the town.
“It is not always about replacing what was in the past,” she said.
“This gives an opportunity to think about what could be in the future.”