viviennef

Wow, that is close. I was going to say I think your view is affected by the amount of people at home just dossing around in housing association houses whilst everyone has to pay their way but thought I didnt have enough info on where you were from.

Anyway, I dont know if I am right or wrong and have decided to ban myself from any sort of discussion with people I do or dont know seeing as I am in the worst mood I have probably ever had and I could argue about anything this afternoon. Quite unusual for me but I dont think some poor innocent should need to get wound up about it.

I think you will find though, that everyone including those uninsured will have their houses rebuilt. Just like so many other contentious subjects on donations - like Kate and Jerrys mortgage being paid, ceos wages etc - when you donate you dont get to choose what its used for.

Thats the way of the world, someone else decides and you just have to hope the overall effect is for the greater good.

How long have you been here?
Vivienne

Burbage

I think that if they replace the homes of the uninsured with basic pre-fab homes with utilities then that would be fine. I think replacing everyone's homes to the value of the original home would be entirely unfair.

Possums

voted no. Also think there should be an estimate of just how much money is needed for the rebuild as the appeal is now reaching hysterical proportions. Someone should now be saying thank you but we now have enough, where is all this money going to?

Geelong Gent

Yes and Karma hit me too

MTPockets

Surely that's not surprising - and should make it even more fundamental. That's the nature of probability and insurance.

Funky Monkey

It is difficult but I said yes.

As mentioned things happen in life and yes we should remember when the policy should be renewed but things happen. What if someone was suddenley taken to hospital a few days before with a serious injury or their parent/s died and they rushed off to a funeral abroad. I have always been insured on the home and car and beleive it is a necessity and I have been hard up at times, I am not a goody goody I am just not a risk taker .
I have been subject to a very severe change of circumstance overnight and your world can be thrown upside down, insurance and bills were not on my mind. Also is it fair to enable children to suffer because of their parents misgiving's. Maybe they should just be given "adequate" housing, not an easy one for sure.

Dorothy

The difference is that the Medicare system is a public health care system and meant to cover all Australian residents. We all pay Medicare premiums through our taxes and those who choose not to pay for private cover and make over a prescribed amount pay a surcharge. The Medicare system is put in place so as to ensure that healthcare is available and that people aren't uninsured. People who choose not to pay for private medical cover are not relying on charity to pay for their healthcare needs.

Andromada

I think people should remember that the money raised is for all victims of the fire disaster I don't think anyone should be discriminating against people because they have no insurance. Everyone is a victim and not only just lost homes but business's, lives, livestock and friends and jobs. If people have such strong feelings about who gets the money maybe you would like to take a trip and visit some of these places where the houses are flattened and whole towns wiped out and to see the bewilderment in people who have lost so much and then tell me whether or not people shouldn't get money because of no insurance. Everyone is a victim and they all deserve help.
Andi

Dorothy

I think you will find that some of the opposition to giving money to the uninsured comes from people who were involved in fighting the fires.

Andromada

My sister was fighting the fires and so was her husband and they are not adverse to money going to people who are uninsured, at end of day it has been a tragedy and we shouldn't discriminate, they are all victim's.
Andi

renth

Nobody is arguing the uninsured shouldn't get money, this thread is about rebuilding their houses which I strongly oppose.

Having said that, I would support lending them dongas that had all the services - water, electric, telephone etc... which they could live in until such time as they could rebuild their houses. That way the community can stick together and lives can get back to normal.

Burbage

As I suggested above. One would also think that the insurance companies might have somethin to say. If uninsured people get homes replaced, the insurance companies might be a bit pissed off.

renth

Oh yeah, sorry. In that case "I agree".

boom_meringue

I voted no, the principle of rewarding lack of foresight really grates on me.

Either way, I think there's a wider issue that should be addressed, that of whether these communities should be built in the middle of bushland. There was a news report over the weekend where the fire services are getting really p*ssed off being called out to these fires which are ripping through communites, because the communities are built so close to/in the middle of bushland.

I believe that whatever is rebuilt in these areas should be on land that is totally cleared of trees, with no bush within 100 metres of houses.

jayr

It's a little unfortunate that so soon after the loss of perhaps 300 lives and the forced homelessness of some 5000 people that this debate has descended into the worthiness of the victims to receive charitable or taxpayer donations.

It seems that those with financial foresight are being considered more worthy, perhaps there could be an assessment to determine how morally worthy each individual is. Those without insurance but poor could get a little less. Those who had in the past used their income for "worthless" things like smoking, drinking, gambling and the purcahse of expensive fattening takeway food could get less again.

Or maybe the $100 million could be divided equally amongst the 5000 homeless such that their is equal treatment of $20,000 each to get them restarted, insured or not.