Bushfire victims to get $50k to rebuild

Bushfire survivors whose homes were lost or badly damaged in the deadly Black
Saturday disaster will receive $50,000 each to kickstart their rebuilding process.
In the first significant distribution of the more than $236 million donated in
response to the February 7 bushfires, Victorian Bushfire Appeal Fund chairman John
Landy on Thursday announced the allocation of more than $130 million.
The initial payments will be given equally to bushfire survivors who owned homes
regardless of their financial or personal circumstances.
However, a second round of payments to be announced in the next two weeks will be
means tested, a spokeswoman for Mr Landy said.
"The panel recognises the bushfires were the most significant natural disaster in
Australia's history and all of those people affected were significantly affected,"
spokeswoman Melissa Arch said.
"That second payment that will be available will be needs based and will recognise
some people were more affected."
The initial grants will consist of $35,000 for rebuilding and $15,000 to replace
contents, while tenants in rented properties will get $15,000 to replace lost or
damaged contents.
Mr Landy, the former Victorian governor, said the money donated so far was
unprecedented and continued to flow in.
"If you go back to why people did this, it's a wonderful example of compassion and
generosity - unparalleled," Mr Landy told reporters in Whittlesea, north of
Melbourne.
"They did this with a wish that people should recover, individually, that houses
should be rebuilt and that communities should be restored.
"We have taken this on board and we have made this universal payment of $50,000 in
the case of every house that has been destroyed in the fires."
Mr Landy said more than 1,800 homes and more than 400 rental properties were destroyed.
Around 700 homes were uninsured and the lack of cover will be considered in the
complex second round of special needs payments, Mr Landy added.
"It will (be) a case of people who, because they were not insured, will not have
enough funds or only partially insured, people who have lost income or have
insufficient income, housing situations which are special - in other words, the
building may require special aspects," he said.
More than $180 million from the appeal fund has now been allocated following the
disaster, with an initial $50 million being committed to the emergency effort in the
days immediately after the Black Saturday bushfires, Mr Landy said.
Premier John Brumby said Thursday's announcement would help families continuing to
come to terms with the mammoth rebuilding task ahead.
"The government was very keen for these announcements to be made as early as
possible so families could plan ahead with certainty and security and know what
support they might be receiving," Mr Brumby said.
He added that families and homeowners would be told in the coming days when they
would receive the money.