Star

Living in limbo

By Nicole Precel

2nd February 2010 11:05:27 AM

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Tony Laurie stands in front of his caravan with his half-finished house in the background. 41845

IN CLONBINANE the trees are sprouting leaves, speckled grass prevails on the once-barren land and the Laurie family’s property looks a darn site better than it did a year ago.

But the struggle after losing their home to the Black Saturday bushfires continues.

Held back by insurance issues, conflicts with building permits and confusion with the new bushfire attack level, they continue to live in caravans and a shed on their burnt-out property.

They feel like they are playing a frustrating waiting game.

Their unfinished kit home stands predominantly on their property, untreated timber and the skeleton of a car beside it, a reminder of what they had lost in the fires.

“You’ve gotten this close to having your house back and, well, you’ve got all these problems,” Tony Laurie said, his feet in sawdust.

His wife Natalie and son Henry have made their shed, a combined kitchen and living room, a home.

“It’s freezing in winter and boiling in summer,” Mr Laurie said.

“When it’s 35 outside, it’s 40 inside. You can’t be in here, you have to get out.”

Mr Laurie said some tradies had increased prices for bushfire victims, which only added to the stress.

“Fencing used to cost $7 a metre, now it’s $25 a metre. They think, there’s an opportunity, let’s take it,” he said.

Natalie Laurie said although she wants the house to be finished, she is worried about what will happen when she moves in.

Mr Laurie predicted there would be more signs of post-traumatic stress around the anniversary date.

He said alcohol consumption had also become a problem.

“Prior to the fires, I know people that would drink alcohol two to three times a day,” he said.

“It’s common now that the three cans a day turns into 30 cans a day. It’s the only way they can cope.”

While many will be remembering the fires and grateful that a year has passed, for the Laurie family, the trouble and torment continues.

“You’ll always have two different lives: one before the fires and one after,” he said.

“Nothing will ever be the normal that it was.”