Wagga man will not be moved

By Daisy Huntly
Updated November 7 2012 - 2:29pm, first published February 18 2011 - 10:57pm

WAGGA man Peter Rukavina has vowed not to leave his Lake Albert home and plans on being in the house when the sheriff arrives next month to evict him.Mr Rukavina lost his eight-year fight to save his house after a Supreme Court judge rejected a stay of execution on the mortgage- holder taking possession last month.The 70-year-old pensioner and his wife, Ivanka, moved to Australia from Croatia 50 years ago but are now facing homelessness.They have lived in their Inglis Street, Lake Albert home for more than 30 years, having purchased the land in 1960 before building the house in 1978.Despite the court order and a notice to vacate arriving at his home last week, Mr Rukavina said yesterday he is going nowhere."I'll keep fighting to the end, I'm not stopping, no," he said."If nothing changes [between now and the eviction date], I'm not going."Mr Rukavina is angry at the toll the saga has taken on his wife, who is now confined to her bed."Since the sheriff's been in, she cries all the time ? this is what upsets me a lot, it's not fair," he said.The Rukavinas' financial problems initally arose when they couldn't fulfil the requirements of a loan at about 14 per cent interest, secured by disgraced former Wagga finance broker, Denise Maloney.Mr Rukavina has made allegations of fraud over the last 10 years, but Wagga police have found no evidence against anyone to prosecute.

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