SPÖ leader attacks Vorarlberg cuts and demands housing investment

SPÖ Vorarlberg leader Mario Leiter criticised the state government’s cuts to social services, childcare and public transport in an ORF Vorarlberg summer interview. He called for more investment in affordable housing, education and social infrastructure.

Speaking in Schwarzach, Leiter objected to the government describing its measures as savings. Savings had a positive meaning, he said, while the measures were actually cuts to services and programmes, often in the wrong places.

Leiter cited reduced funding for social institutions, early childhood education, healthcare and public transport. If social institutions received less money, he said, they would also be able to offer fewer counselling services.

He also criticised developments in kindergartens, saying groups were being closed, opening hours shortened and parents fined if they collected their children too late.

“The state is not saving money, the state is making cuts. That is the crucial difference,” Leiter said. He described the reductions as radical cuts to areas important to social life and called for targeted investment in social services, education and childcare instead.

Leiter calls for simpler administrative procedures

Leiter also called for administrative procedures to become simpler, faster and cheaper. He referred to the administrative law governing a travelling circus that performs in several districts. The district authority responsible is the one in the district where the first performance takes place, he said, and its decision then applies throughout Vorarlberg.

Leiter wants to extend this one stop principle, involving one responsible authority, one procedure and one decision, to other areas. He said this would reduce the workload for public administration and speed up procedures for residents and businesses.

Call for Wallner to intervene on transport fares

Leiter criticised the new public transport fare system, calling it a mess that needed to be repaired. Many people did not understand it, he said, while costs had risen significantly for some passengers.

If so many people were complaining about the fare system, state governor Markus Wallner of the ÖVP had to intervene, Leiter said. Wallner should “take” transport state councillor Christof Bitschi of the FPÖ “by the hand” and enable a fresh start.

The SPÖ is also calling for a free annual ticket for people up to the age of 25 to make switching to buses and trains more attractive.

SPÖ says 18,000 affordable homes are needed

According to the Poverty Conference, Vorarlberg currently lacks around 18,000 affordable homes. Leiter said the state was at the bottom of Austria’s ranking for non profit housing: only 13 percent of the population live in such homes, compared with 24 percent nationwide.

The SPÖ is calling for 2,000 new affordable homes to be built each year. Leiter said he would already be satisfied if 1,000 were built. Almost 280 homes are due to be completed this year, which he said was not enough. There are currently 6,500 people looking for housing in Vorarlberg.

Leiter said young people and families should receive particular support through starter homes and cooperative housing models. Allowing residents to buy a home after 10 years could also provide an incentive, he said.

Leiter described non profit housing as important not only socially but also economically, saying that increased construction would create and secure jobs in the construction and related sectors.

The interview also addressed the allocation of subsidised homes. Residents wanted allocation to be fairer and subject to better oversight, Leiter said. He pointed to the existing points system, which takes social criteria into account, and said the state and municipalities had to ensure monitoring and transparency.

Leiter also criticised the conditions faced by non profit developers. While private developers can build without additional political approval, non profit developers need the consent of mayors, he said. The SPÖ wants non profit developers to be able to build in accordance with building regulations without additional political obstacles.