St. Pölten (OTS/NLK) – MP Wolfgang Kocevar (SP) spoke on reports regarding:
- Supervision of non-profit building associations (Report 1/2024).
- Activities 2022 and 2023 (Report 2/2024).
MP Mag. Christian Samwald (SP) opened the debate: A process time of up to three years until the non-profit status is withdrawn could be optimized.
MP Mag. Helmut Hofer-Gruber (Neos) said that the State Audit Office was showing what it could do. There is no consensus on the special audit for the allocation of advertisements. The blockade of the right to speak in the state parliament is of the highest order.
Third President Eva Prischl (SP) spoke of the important, comprehensive and sustainable work of the State Audit Office, which is also effective. All Lower Austrians benefited from this. The most important effect is preventive, so an expansion of testing competence is only a matter of time.
MP Andreas Bors (FP) emphasized the appreciation of the work of the State Audit Office. How valuable and important his work is can also be seen in the implementation rate of 80 percent on average, up from 84 percent last year.
Deputy Ing. Franz Linsbauer (VP) commented on the non-profit building associations. The exchange with the federal government and the other federal states in order to promote uniform enforcement is particularly positive. The activity report proves the flexibility of the State Audit Office, which shows great foresight and a high willingness to innovate.
Both reports were accepted unanimously.
MP Mag. Christian Samwald (SP) reported on a motion regarding Record inflation for people, record profits for banks. The federal government’s housing package does not reduce a single price. The committee motion is rejected.
MP Mag. Helmut Hofer-Gruber (Neos) opened the debate: The absurd proposal was a grab for the “planned economy box”. The banking sector is now fully regulated and the greed is more likely to lie with the borrowers. The inability of individuals to assess their financial risk should therefore be socialized.
MP Dominic Hörlezeder (Greens) recalled the reasons for the increase in prices; the monetary policy of the European Central Bank also played a role. The federal government’s construction and housing package is intended to stimulate the economy, create incentives for investments and, above all, affordable housing. Applications like this do no one any good.
MP René Pfister (SP) said that record inflation and high inflation rates have been an issue for years. The SP has been calling for a real rent freeze for a long time; imposing a rent cap would not cost a single cent. He appeals to all parties not to ridicule people’s worries and fears.
MP Michael Sommer (FP) reiterated that the high rental prices were a big problem. But you have to start at the roots and not fight pseudo-symptoms. We have to work on giving Lower Austrians the dream of having their own four walls again. His faction is working on real solutions and addressing the real causes, while the SP is only in the class struggle.
MP Florian Krumböck, BA (VP) said that the previous speakers had already taken a hard stance against the motion and that the VP would not agree to it either. A package had been presented that would further fuel inflation, reduce the supply of living space and place a heavy burden on the economy, the MP spoke of “left-wing distribution policy”. This is not the way in which the VP imagines that a good future can be created for the people living here. He spoke of a threat to jobs and prosperity in relation to the application. The VP is taking a different approach, they want to promote personal responsibility and enable people to make performance worthwhile. For example, they want overtime to be completely tax-free or to increase mileage allowances.
The motion to reject was accepted with votes from VP, FP, Greens and Neos.
MP Mag. Georg Ecker, MA (Greens) reported on a motion regarding Promotion of private apartment buildings, so-called building groups, in the spirit of eco-social transformation. The committee motion is rejected.
Club chairman Dr. Helga Krismer-Huber (Greens) explained that in Lower Austria there are opportunities for funding for classic single-family homes and non-profit housing, but people who come together, as the Climate Council recommends, are in the second and third category and do not receive a euro from housing subsidies. In other federal states, so-called assemblies would be taken into account; there are already initiatives that would also like to see this in Lower Austria. That people support each other socially, some look after the children, others help with difficult tasks, that’s what modern coexistence and living in Lower Austria looks like. The debate has only just begun here.
MP Mag. Christian Samwald (SP) said that the idea of the building groups was not a bad one in principle, but opening up housing subsidies to them too was not a good idea. There is the possibility of building assemblies in a non-profit organization. The current status quo cannot be maintained; non-profit housing construction must be promoted again. Everyone has their own access, in this case you cannot agree to the application.
MP Mag. Hubert Keyl (FP) stated that communal housing would play a major role in the future. In terms of content, the application is not that far removed. The term generation house is a very important point for his group, where the issues of the future, namely care and childcare, can be managed better with several residential units in a family group than with non-profit cooperatives. He also addressed the issue of legal succession. The issue of generational housing is very important to us and we will continue to advocate for it.
MP Christian Gepp, MSc (VP) emphasized that housing is a fundamental need for people and must be affordable. The goal is to continue to create affordable housing for everyone. Building groups could act as funding applicants with non-profit housing associations; These are organized as clubs, the creditworthiness of clubs is often not given, he addressed legal problems. The application is rejected.
The motion, which says to reject, was accepted with votes from VP, FP and SP.
MP Mag. Georg Ecker, MA (Greens) reported on a motion regarding safe footpath on the state road L 8244 along the overpass over the B 38. The committee motion is rejected.
MP Mag. Helmut Hofer-Gruber (Neos) emphasized that road safety is a legitimate concern. Regardless of the specific case, it is interesting to see what concerns the Lower Austrian state parliament is dealing with. In this specific case, he asked himself who was responsible for planning. They are against the negative committee proposal.
MP Mag. Silvia Moser, MSc (Greens) explained that the Greens had already drawn attention to this when planning the bypass, but this was dismissed at the time and even ridiculed. Since the bypass was built, residents in the residential area of Zwettl have only been able to safely walk along the street. There is a local recreation area above the bridge and a hiking trail is also marked. People are worried that a dramatic accident will have to happen before the situation can be defused.
MP Franz Schnabl (SP) emphasized that every euro invested in the expansion of pedestrian paths and in the safety of people is a euro well invested and therefore the motion was supported.
MP Mag. Hubert Keyl (FP) said that one had to “leave the church in the village” or “leave the bridge in Zwettl”. Road safety is important, but it’s about a road that was opened to traffic in 2015. This was extensively planned and constructed and the community was involved. The municipality said at the time that they did not want to create a footpath or cycle path here. If it is said that it doesn’t matter whether it is needed or not, we will build it, the question arises as to who will bear the costs.
MP Florian Krumböck, BA (VP) said that concrete work is currently being carried out together with the road service and if the discussion is to be held at the state level, it should be made clear that since the start of planning for the Zwettl bypass, we have been looking at this together with the Lower Austrian road service. Think about cycle paths and sidewalks.
MP Mag. Silvia Moser, MSc (Greens) spoke up again and asked the question, “if everything were so positive,” why the motion to start a planning process was not approved. Residents are being put off with traffic statistics surveys, which seems as if the project is being put on the back burner. Moser lacks an idea of what to do next after the traffic figures have been collected.
The motion was accepted with the consent of VP and FP. (Rejection of SP, Greens, Neos).
End of the session!
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