Airpower air show damaging the environment, says Green Party

Categories
Green Austria

The 2013 Airpower air show due to take place later this month in Aichfeld (Styria, Murtal district) has come in for criticism from environmentalists. According to the Green Party, up to 300,000 litres of kerosene will be used during the event, polluting the atmosphere. Green Party spokesman Erwin Webersink said: “At the very least, 150,000 […]

AKH hospital under fire over costs

Categories
Finance

Due to a non-transparent personnel structure, high absences of employees and exploding costs, the administration of the Vienna General Hospital (AKH) is not efficient, an audit court report stated. The audit report, which has been confidential up to now, will become the most important issue at the city senate meeting next week. The existing shortcomings […]

350,000 Austrians are alcoholics

Categories
Lifestyle

Five percent of all Austrians – 350,000 people above the age of 16 – are addicted to alcohol. According to a current survey of the Institute for Advanced Studies (IHS), this meant direct medical costs of around 375 million Euros in 2011. Indirect costs of chronic diseases like early retirement, absence from work etc. are […]

Adventureland Mautern opens for a new season

Categories
Culture

Theme park Adventureland in Mautern in Styria has opened for the season – the second season where they share a roof with Herberstein Zoo. And a new summer toboggan run, a zoo and a falcon show should attract even more visitors this year. Since the Herberstein Zoo has been so successful with their exotic animals […]

Teachers too expensive

Categories
Education

The Austrian state auditor has criticised the sharp increase in the cost of teachers in lower Austria. It said that with the teaching costs for compulsory schools alone the increase was around 21 percent. The report on teaching staff costs has now been presented to the regional government. According to the report the region has […]

Builders feel the competition from abroad

Categories
General News

Austrian builders are starting to feel the pressure of competition from abroad. Since the opening of the domestic market to firms from EU countries more and more foreign firms are setting up business in Austria. Spokeswoman for the builders Maria Epple said: “It is not just the lower wage costs but also the fact that […]

Wehsely wants equal sharing of AKH costs

Categories
Politics

Viennese Social Democratic (SPÖ) Health Councillor Sonja Wehsely has a fifty-fifty divide of the General Hospital’s (AKH) expenditures. Around two thirds of the costs of Europe’s largest clinic are currently covered by the city hall. The Republic of Austria comes up for the remaining part of the hospital’s budget. Wehsely said the state must compensate […]

State saves another bank from bankruptcy

Categories
Finance

The Austrian government has decided to partly nationalise one of the country’s biggest banks. Negotiators – including People’s Party (ÖVP) Finance Minister Maria Fekter and Social Democratic (SPÖ) State Secretary Andreas Schieder – announced yesterday evening (Mon) that the state would increase the small share it was currently holding in Volksbank AG (ÖVAG) to 49 […]

Mikl-Leitner denies lack of reforms

Categories
Politics

Johanna Mikl-Leitner has defended the government’s disputed pension system agenda. The interior minister dismissed accusations that the recently presented budget consolidation agreement featured too many open questions. Mikl-Leitner told Die Presse that substantial structural reforms would be achieved if the average retirement age rises from the current 58 to 61 or 62 in 2020. The […]

Unionist rubbishes ÖBB’s workforce concept

Categories
Business

Federal Railways (ÖBB) works council chief Roman Hebenstreit has called on company bosses to show more honesty regarding the firm’s workforce level and staff salaries. Hebenstreit said on Saturday ÖBB continued cooperating with external enterprises about various services such as security at railroad construction sites while planning to lower the number of ÖBB staff by […]