Antheringer Au

Province paid the taxes for the landowner

The state bought the Antheringer Au from landowner Max Mayr-Melnhof in October 2022

(Bild: Tröster Andreas)

According to the Court of Audit, the provincial government was too generous with the purchase. Even within the government there is criticism.

The purchase of the Antheringer Au by the state in October 2022 caused a lot of criticism. The state paid 37 million euros to landowner Max Mayr-Melnhof for marshy meadows and lots of alluvial forest. The price was already being criticized at the time for being excessive. It is now likely to become even louder. The State Court of Auditors is currently finalizing a report on the case. The rough version is already stirring up dust.

The price for the Au included a calculated income tax of 5.6 million euros, which the state effectively took over for Mayr-Melnhof. There had even been an agreement on this between Governor Wilfried Haslauer, the then State Councillor for Nature Conservation Daniela Gutschi (ÖVP) and the landowner.

Svazek criticizes the purchase agreement at the time
Gutschi rejects the accusations. "The provincial court of auditors is deliberately mixing up the facts here and thereby creating a tendentious and false portrayal," says her office. The coalition partner sees things differently. The FPÖ once commissioned the audit by the Court of Audit.

"I would never have negotiated such a contract with such an adventurous purchase price, let alone signed it," says the current nature conservation councillor Marlene Svazek (FPÖ). The opposition from the SPÖ, KPÖ Plus and the Greens also criticized the deal once again. The tenor is that taxpayers' money has been given away.