IF THE outcome of a bureaucratic process, in the middle of a serious housing crisis, is to issue a local pensioner with an order to “cease occupation”, then there’s something seriously wrong with the process.
But that’s the situation that long-time Meeniyan resident, Aileen Hughes, has found herself in, facing eviction from her own home in the town, at a hearing in the Korumburra Magistrates Court next month, following a two-year struggle with the South Gippsland Shire Council.
How has it come to this?
“I’ve always lived on a rural property and when I was looking to buy something for myself, 30 years ago, I could afford some land with no house, or a house with no land,” said Aileen last weekend.
But horses have always been Aileen’s life, so it was a no-brainer.
She bought a 6.9-acre rural residential block on the edge of Meeniyan, ideal for her horses, with space for training, equipment and supplies.
Ten years earlier, in 1985 and 1986, Aileen won what was effectively the Australian bending championship for horse and rider at the Royal Melbourne Show, a timed equestrian race through a slalom course of six poles, completing the races in an incredible six seconds one year and seven the next.
She’s also been a devotee of camp drafting for more than four decades, and just about every other form of competitive horse riding.
And she’s something of a real-life horse whisperer where equine troubles are concerned.
The prized Melbourne Show championship ribbons, together with photos of happy times with horses and friends, adorn the walls of her living room, and there’s an interesting array of knick-knacks around the kitchen. A slow-combustion heater warms the bones.
These days, Aileen limits herself to looking after a quarter horse named ‘Darcy’, saving him from the knacker’s yard, and building back his fitness and confidence enough to make him a good companion.
“I just love how he greets me in the morning,” says Aileen, as Darcy lets out a snort and a blow on her approach to the yards beside the house.
But he’s another complicating factor should Aileen be forced to leave.
“Back then, it was the Woorayl Shire, and I went in there to ask them what I had to do to build something for my horses and my stuff and they said that as long as I built it 100 metres off the road, I didn’t need a permit.
“Some years later, I went back to the council and asked what I had to do to build a self-contained area in the shed. The bloke I spoke to took notes and said I had to put in a septic, but as long as I used licensed tradesmen, I’d be fine.
“Finances didn’t allow me to do anything else and that’s where I stayed.
“When they came out in 2016 and spoke to me about living here, I asked, ‘What happens now?’ and they said they’d get back to me.
“But it wasn’t until two years ago that they contacted me again, saying I’d turned my shed into a habitable dwelling, and I’d have to get a Certificate of Occupancy.
“They said I’d needed to pay for a building report first, but I can’t afford the $2000 or $3000 it would cost, not on a pension, plus who knows where that would lead.”
Ms Hughes is concerned that while the self-contained unit she had built by a licensed local builder, and the septic she had installed, which she has serviced regularly, continue to provide a safe, warm, comfortable and cosy home, they might not comply with all the new regulations today.
“They know I’ve been living here for nearly 30 years. It’s my home address after all, and I pay my rates, but they’ve done nothing about it until now.
“If they told me back then, when I might have been able to raise the finances to do it, I could have done something, but I simply can’t afford it now.
“And surely, they’ve got better things to do than have six of them working on this. Imagine the cost of it! Going to court and all the rest. They’d be better employed going out and fixing the roads.
“I don’t want to be in town. I don’t want to live anywhere else. But what else have they got for me to live in?” asked Ms Hughes.
“There would be hundreds of people, thousands probably, who’d be happy to live here. So, what’s the problem?”
Ms Hughes said the prospect of being made homeless, together with dealing with the shire’s bureaucratic processes has been increasingly stressful.
“Surely,” she said, “there’s got to be a workable solution.”
Ms Hughes said there had been some talk of issuing her with a permit for what is effectively a granny flat or even allowing her to put a caravan on the site.
“People have been very supportive, I’ve already been offered a few caravans, but those offers by the shire seem to have evaporated,” she said.
“It’s a silly impasse. A waste of ratepayers’ money. They’re making it impossible for people to live.”
Ms Hughes will be 75 years of age by the time the matter goes to court, and frankly, she could do without the mental anguish it has caused, and is still causing, as the court date approaches.
“I’ve never told anyone in my life to f--- off, but one day, when a big bloke from the shire came out, unannounced, to see if I’d complied with the order to leave, I’ve got to admit I did get a bit upset.
“I’ve previously had a stroke, and I just felt that pressure building in my head.
“It’s all just so unnecessary. There’s nothing wrong with the house. Why don’t they just leave me alone? How much longer can I be here anyway?” she said.
The shire has been asked for comment.
