Events in focus – discussion about chats and childcare in Lower Austria’s state parliament

by time news

Discussions were held in St. Pölten as part of a current hour requested by the SPÖ about childcare. Published chats between ex-Chancellor Sebastian Kurz (ÖVP) and the former Secretary General in the Ministry of Finance, Thomas Schmid, came up again and again.

“SHORT times incited? Create instead of delay – legal entitlement to all-day childcare in Lower Austria NOW!” – that was the title of the current lesson. Under this heading, the SPÖ wanted to bring up, among other things, the legal entitlement to afternoon care, which was prevented by Kurz in the opinion of the Social Democrats, for which a total of 1.2 billion euros should be budgeted.

The question of whether Kurz incited Lower Austria to torpedo the agreement to expand afternoon care in 2016 “is in the room,” said SPÖ MP Kerstin Suchan-Mayr. When it comes to childcare, there has been a “standstill” in Lower Austria since 2016, this is obvious. In the state “the numbers have stagnated noticeably since the chats”. In Austria, however, there is now “social consensus” that childcare must be expanded.

Vesna Schuster from the Freedom Party spoke of a “slap in the face with full force” for parents and other educators in relation to the chat messages about childcare. For “one’s own advantage”, the “advantage for hundreds of thousands of families” was prevented at that time. Before one can now talk about a legal claim, the appropriate basis or framework must first be created.

Indra Collini, state spokeswoman for NEOS, also stated that in terms of childcare in the federal government under Chancellor Christian Kern (SPÖ) and Vice Chancellor Reinhold Mitterlehner (ÖVP) a “good package was on the way”. Briefly torpedoed this back then as foreign minister, among other things “out of lust for power”. An affordable care infrastructure with legal entitlement from the first birthday was required.

ÖVP state manager Bernhard Ebner described the SPÖ application at the current hour as a kind of “Trojan horse” to “bring the dispute at the federal level to Lower Austria”. “It is exciting that they are all worried about the ÖVP,” he said to the previous speaker. The color theory was used to illustrate the positioning of the Lower Austrian People’s Party: “We were never black, but never turquoise either. We were, we are and we always remain blue-yellow and committed to the Lower Austrians.”

Georg Ecker from the Greens dealt with the events in the federal government only marginally, rather took the state government and especially the SPÖ represented there to account. “Nobody prevents Lower Austria from creating a nationwide offer for all-day schools,” he emphasized. It is feasible that there is “nationwide and comprehensive childcare” in the state.

In a second current hour, at the request of the FPÖ, the falling “cost avalanche” was discussed. The program also included applications and commitments to build the Marchfeld expressway (S 8) and the Traisental expressway (S 34).

Speaking of road construction: According to information on Thursday, the initiative group “Stop S 34” brought a petition to the Lower Austrian state parliament aimed at an end to the Traisental expressway project. This “concern for a climate-friendly turnaround in transport policy for the St. Pölten area” found 10,370 supporters according to a broadcast.

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