2024-01-22 19:41:34
Several opposition motions on ORF reforms and demands for measures against fake news have been postponed
Vienna (PK) – On the referendums that the Constitutional Committee discussed at today’s meeting included the “GIS Fees No” initiative. The proponents are specifically demanding that all general fees and charges for financing the ORF be abolished. The demands will be discussed further in the plenary session of the National Council.
Together with the referendum, a number of applications from the SPÖ, FPÖ and NEOS were also processed. The political groups are in favor of a number of adjustments to the ORF’s legal framework in fulfilling its public service mandate. The motions for the ORF were postponed with the votes of the ÖVP and the Greens. Two motions from NEOS were also postponed, in which they called for a more active role for the federal government in measures against fake news and more support for the development of media literacy among the population.
Referendum calls for the abolition of all ORF fees
The National Council has already addressed the demand to fundamentally abolish ORF fees several times. The MPs now have another referendum on this topic before them. A total of 167,406 people or 2.64% of eligible voters supported an initiative entitled “GIS Fees No” (2076 d.B.) This means that the referendum was not able to achieve as many signatures as previous referendums with the same issue. For Marcus Hohenecker and his colleagues, it is clear that an overwhelming majority of more than 90% want to see GIS fees abolished. They derive this from the fact that a simultaneous initiative entitled “GIS fees YES” only received 8,401 declarations of support and therefore not even the signatures necessary to initiate a referendum.
From her group’s point of view, further reforms of the ORF are needed, said SPÖ MP Muna Duzdar. However, abolishing all ORF fees without replacement would be counterproductive, because it would effectively mean the end of the independent ORF and thus an important factor in the Austrian media landscape, which is also an important part of Austrian identity.
Susanne Fürst (FPÖ) saw the referendum as an important initiative that underlined that the ORF is currently not fulfilling its public service mandate sufficiently. For this reason, the FPÖ is also firmly against the ORF budget levy in its current form, which shows a completely wrong approach to the question of ORF financing.
Eva Blimlinger (Greens) made a clear commitment to financing public broadcasting. The household levy distributes the burden of financing much better and takes into account the fact that many people now consume content produced by ORF not only via radio and TV sets, but also online.
Henrike Brandstötter (NEOS) emphasized that her group is committed to an independent ORF, but that it must fulfill its public service mandate more closely. The NEOS had therefore formulated extensive demands for a continuation of the reform of the ORF.
Kurt Egger (ÖVP) said that the arguments of the proponents, according to which 90% of citizens would support the referendum, were questionable because referendums are not an instrument of opinion research. Using them in this sense amounts to misusing a democratic instrument.
Anatolij Volk spoke in the committee on behalf of the proponents of the referendum. He denied allegations of abuse. Referendums should be viewed as an important addition to parliamentary democracy and not devalued. From his point of view, the ORF’s reporting on the tendency to devalue referendums also shows that it is not doing justice to its task of objective reporting.
FPÖ opposes ORF budget levy
The discussion about the referendum was followed by a debate about a series of motions in which the opposition expressed its demands on the ORF. In response to the VfGH ruling on the ORF, the FPÖ advocates a repeal of the ORF contribution law, on the basis of which the new budget levy is collected (3663/A). According to FPÖ MP Susanne Fürst, the budget levy should be rejected because the “secure basic income for the ORF” only means that the necessary transformation of the public broadcaster will be further delayed. The ORF should focus on its core tasks as a public broadcaster and leave the rest to the free market.
For SPÖ MP Muna Duzdar, however, a “socially just” model of ORF financing is needed (3806/A(E)). According to the SPÖ, young people up to the age of 24 and low-income households should generally be exempt from ORF contributions. Housing costs should also be taken into account when calculating the income limit beyond 2025. According to the SPÖ, the resulting loss of income should be reimbursed to the ORF from the budget. In the medium term, Duzdar advocates for an ORF financing model in which high earners pay more and people with low incomes pay little or nothing. However, she rejects the FPÖ’s access. The financing of the ORF must remain secured.
For Eva Blimlinger (Greens), the FPÖ’s proposal aims to restrict the ORF’s independence. The budget levy is the right solution, she emphasized. In the direction of the SPÖ, she said that the social graduation of the contribution had been implemented as far as possible by expanding the exception provisions. Requiring them to be staggered from the outset would require household income surveys that would not be feasible for data protection reasons.
ÖVP MP Kurt Egger took the same line. He said the SPÖ’s demand would amount to a “snoop tax” because it was asking for nothing other than the collection of household income. In its ruling, the Constitutional Court made very carefully thought-out suggestions as to how ORF financing could be regulated in accordance with the constitution, which were followed.
From NEOS’s point of view, the ORF’s independence must be preserved, emphasized NEOS MP Henrike Brandstötter. It is regrettable, however, that the ORF reform has now stalled and Media Minister Susanne Raab is no longer committed to this direction.
SPÖ calls for an end to the ORF chain contract regulation
The SPÖ is committed to putting a stop to fixed-term chain contracts in the ORF. In this context, MP Muna Duzdar is calling for the deletion of the currently existing special provisions that enable the ORF to conclude fixed-term employment contracts without any numerical limits, even in immediate succession (3703/(A(E)). According to Duzdar, the passage not only represents a preference for ORF over other media companies. It is also important that all ORF employees receive safe and stable working conditions, which is currently not the case.
Support for the application came from Henrike Brandstötter (NEOS). Eva Blimlinger (Greens) admitted that the ORF’s chain contract regulation had become more and more disadvantageous for employees over the years and therefore urgently needed to be reformed. Discussions about this are ongoing and she hopes that they will lead to a positive result during this legislative period.
NEOS want comprehensive ORF reform
The NEOS would demand a “real ORF reform” and had formulated a 10-point plan that Media Minister Susanne Raab should implement, said NEOS MP Henrike Brandstötter. The proposed measures would include sharpening the public broadcasting mandate, a transparent program structure, mandatory public hearings for management positions in the ORF, upgrading the ORF editorial meeting and committee reform (3698/A(E)). Many points need to be questioned, such as the tasks of the nine state studios, the ORF’s participation in Lotto-Toto, the budget levy, the retention of state levies in some states or the state governors’ right to be heard when appointing ORF state directors. Media Minister Susanne Raab must present a schedule as to when which reform steps should be implemented. SPÖ MP Alois Stöger also joined in the criticism of what the opposition saw as the minister’s lack of commitment to ORF reform.
Eva Blimlinger (Greens) emphasized that discussions would take place on a number of the points requested by the NEOS. Kurt Ecker (ÖVP) pointed out that the ORF had already implemented extensive reforms that had also led to significant savings.
NEOS consider their own department against disinformation to be necessary
NEOS MP Henrike Brandstötter pointed out an ever-increasing threat to democracy from fake news. Your group is therefore demanding that the federal government set up a department against disinformation (3699/A(E)). Brandstötter sees the government agency against disinformation in Sweden as a role model. There, independent experts would take on the topic and, among other things, develop targeted strategies against fake news, network NGOs and political decision-makers and coordinate media literacy education.
Eva Blimlinger (Greens) spoke out against the establishment of a government agency that would assess the accuracy of news. Eva-Maria Himmelbauer agreed with this view and said that such tasks must be taken on by an independent body. SPÖ MP Alois Stöger, however, said that there was “no legal right to organized lying”. In this sense, there must be a government-backed body that can take action against fake news. What it might look like will undoubtedly need to be discussed further.
NEOS for more offers to increase media literacy
NEOS MP Brandstötter also calls on the government to develop an overall strategy on the subject of media literacy together with experts (3785/A(E)). According to her, a media competence cluster could be established at the broadcasting and telecommunications regulatory authority RTR, which would provide appropriate mediation services in close coordination with the Wiener Zeitung and with initiatives at state level. The ORF state studios could also take on tasks in media literacy training. Funding for the area of media literacy would have to be significantly increased.
ÖVP MP Eva-Maria Himmelbauer emphasized that many steps have already been taken to teach media skills. The RTR will definitely be further developed, said the MP, but she doubts that it is the right place for the task that the NEOS had intended for it. Green MP Eva Blimlinger also said that she did not see RTR as the appropriate central point for this issue. Blimlinger and Kurt Egger (ÖVP) referred to a significant increase in funding for the promotion of media competence and quality journalism. (Continuation of the Constitutional Committee) sox
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