Burgenland parliament to focus on health care and state finances

Burgenland’s state parliament is due to debate health care and the state’s finances on Thursday, with 19 items on its agenda and two urgent motions, ORF reported.

The session will open with a question time for Governor Hans Peter Doskozil of the Social Democratic Party (SPÖ). The SPÖ has also requested a debate on health care in Burgenland and measures taken under Doskozil.

Lawmakers will discuss two reports from the state audit office, including one on the 2023 accounts. Audit office director Rene Wenk described the development of state finances as “worrying” when presenting the report, drawing strong criticism from the SPÖ. Another exchange between governing and opposition parties is expected.

The Freedom Party (FPÖ) will submit an urgent motion calling on the state government to urge the federal government to abolish the parcel tax. A second urgent motion from the SPÖ and the Greens seeks rules for building data centres. The SPÖ said the motion would include a 10-point plan put forward by the governor.

The People’s Party (ÖVP) is calling for a central, transparent and publicly accessible database of waiting times for surgery and other key medical services at health facilities in Burgenland. The FPÖ is seeking an independent tenants’ protection office and stronger enforcement of the truck ban on the B50 between Neusiedl and Eisenstadt.

A joint motion from the SPÖ and Greens calls for the protection and long-term preservation of the Salzlacken, salt lakes in the Seewinkel. The agenda also includes several legislative amendments, including changes to the spatial planning law and the state care law.