The debate about the establishment of a logistics warehouse for the online giant Amazon in the south of Graz has reached the Styrian state parliament. In one of the six urgent questions at the evening of the special session, the KPÖ wanted under “How much construction can Graz still take?” learn from SPÖ regional councilor Ursula Lackner what the country intends to do. Lackner said, among other things, that she could not comment on ongoing proceedings, but precarious working conditions were also not acceptable.
KPÖ club boss Claudia Klimt-Weithaler said in response to the urgent request to the environmental councilor that it was also about “carrying those who deliver their taxes where they are to be delivered through the crisis – and leaving our children with an intact environment. We are talking about a high volume of traffic in Graz-Liebenau, a four-story car park, hundreds of outdoor parking spaces, entry and exit on the Liebenauer Gürtel, shift work from midnight to midnight, several hundred vehicles with immense noise and pollution and immense Soil sealing of 5.7 hectares “.
The Graz Chamber of Commerce said the added value for Graz was relatively low. “So that’s not what a communist says,” said Klimt. Amazon is not a company known for treating its employees well, keyword precarious circumstances. During a raid on an Amazon warehouse in Großebersdorf (Lower Austria), the financial police discovered massive violations. All of this contradicts everything that has been discussed here in the state parliament over and over again, fairness, climate protection and sustainability. Klimt cited, among other things, an Amazon-critical Facebook posting by State Councilor Lackner and the Graz SPÖ local council club chief Michael Ehmann, who had spoken out against the distribution center.
The question arises, will the Styrian climate targets for 2030 be influenced by Amazon and what kind of spatial planning aspects do that mean with a sealing of 5.7 hectares in the urban area? Lackner replied: “A lot has recently been shifted to the digital world under the influence of Corona. A project development company wants to build a distribution center for a global online retailer,” said Lackner. As a regional councilor, it is her job to ensure that a procedure that complies with the law is guaranteed.
“Regardless of my attitude towards project applicants, all project applicants are entitled to a fair process,” said Lackner. It is not up to her to interfere or comment on a specific and ongoing procedure (EIA assessment procedure, note). However, she does not want to accept that financial loopholes are being exploited and “our social standards are being undermined. None of this is acceptable to me.” Precarious working conditions are also not acceptable. But that and a procedure are two different things, she asked to tell them apart.
The area has been designated as a shopping center without a grocery store with an overlapping commercial area; for decades there has been a zoning plan. A maximum of 70 percent sealing of the construction site areas is specified, said Lackner.
Greens-LAbg. Lambert Schönleitner said that no tax law issues could be clarified here. But such corporations cannot be left out when it comes to coping with the costs of the crisis. “Nobody asked that a procedure be intervened. But in such sensitive cases you have to make sure that the quality of the reports is available. This is where the authority is required and a member of the regional council is responsible.” One also has to look at how things look with supra-regional spatial planning and building planning. And the road infrastructure there is not suitable for commuters and logistics traffic. You have to pay attention to the health of the population.
Neos club boss Niko Swatek apparently did not fully understand the debate: One had the impression that absolute evil was approaching Styria, while online trading like Amazon had long been a reality for many people in Styria, said Swatek and others, for which there was violent scolding from KPÖ -Klub boss Klimt-Weithaler gave. If Swatek announced 250 new jobs and didn’t say what kind of jobs, then that would be naive. (apa / red)
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