Geelong Gent

Was nice wasn't it. Except when I saw the 2nd photo with the trees encroaching



Now what if due to an administrative glich the house was uninsured technically over the weekend of the fires? ie cheque lost in the mail

fraser

I would think a lot do, why I don't know

MartinLuther

I would if they hadn't bought a ticket for said lottery

lapin_windstar

To be fair, that's not quite the same.

When people (including the benefits claimant) enter a lottery, it's understood that a chunk of the kitty will be taken out, and the rest will go to the winners, who are randomly chosen. You might whinge about whether the winner is "deserving" or not, but ultimately everyone knows it's going to be forked over to someone with no strings attached.

On the other hand, when one pays taxes or makes charitable donations, you have the expectation (or at least hope...) that it's going to be used appropriately and where it's going to have the best impact. There are plenty of arguments for/against reconstruction with public money, but I don't think you can quite think it's all sour grapes.

Also, you seem to be talking about the money as if it were coming magically from the sky and couldn't be used for anything else...but neither of those things is true.

Geelong Gent

Exactly my point in the first place - Calculating before raw emotion

Evelin

I had a look at this one too after the fire. Nobody should be aloud to built in such a location.

Pollyana

The complaints have not been about the topic under discussion, but about some of the abuse and personal insults thrown in earlier posts. They are not a necessary part of the debate and aren't welcome.

fraser

My earlier comment stands they were hardly near the mark were they, now I can understand a mod commenting on them but not some one complaining about them.

Pommy Dan

all good friday arvo fun, wasn't it?

Pollyana

Well other posters did complain; I don't intend to name them but the thread was reported more than once. Now lets drop the subject as the insults seem to have stopped.

fraser

I never doubted that they did complain, I just find it strange, that is all.

jond

I have just returned from spending a day at Diamond creek and Whittlesea relief centres.

The generosity of some people brought a lump to my throat, one bloke donated a car, a woman the use to her caravan. Someone drove from Tocumwal to donate bedding. We were supposed to be selective about what we took in, but we reckoned if people wanted to donate it we would take it.

The thing that stunned me was the look on the faces of people affected by the fires, they were still in shock with that blank Thousand yard stare. I really hadn't thought until today that these people had lost every item they owned, from a toothbrush to their house. Most of them seemed to be quite embarrassed to be there asking for help.

John

Pollyana

I was reading a piece about how they allowed the Marysville survivors to be driven through the town but wouldn't allow them to revisit their homes. That must be awful, as they aren't even given the chance to see if anything has survived the fire, and can't get any closure. I know its for forensic reasons, and I can't imagine the horrors they have gone through anyway, but to have nothing at all, and not even be able to go back to the ruins of their homes if they wish is just making it worse.

tiredwithtwins

havent read all the thread (cos of the insults flying around) so apologies if someone else has posted this already.
but in june 07 we were hit by devastating floods - thankfully didnt suffer the high death toll that aus has, but a similar arguement cropped up back then about whether it was right for those who were uninsured to gain from charity. I dont think the issue was ever resolved, but they assessed every individual claimant - if you were hit by the floods, you had to submit a claim for help from the charity; many people didnt bother claiming as they were covered by thier insurance so didnt need to - but many people struggled even though they were insured, as the floods were seen as an act of god - and most insurance policies dont cover acts of god.
A freind of mine only moved back into their house in nov last year - 17 months after the floods - cos it took the insurance company so long to sort out their claim.

hope everyone on the forum in the area stayed safe