There will be a referendum next June about the points mentioned above. The defense ministry is currently working on 5 alternative plans, out of which the most effective "professional army"-plan will be put to a referendum.
As you may know, Germany recently ended their draft, that's why there's a big debate about it here too.
There were only 2 referendums so far in Austria since WW2 (one about the introduction of nuclear energy in the 70s, which was rejected and the joining of the EU in the 90s, which was approved).
You have to know that if the draft is abolished, the Civil Service will also be abolished. The Civil Service is rather useful to organisations like the Red Cross, Caritas and Nursing homes, because Civil Servants are cheap and provide a high standard of rapid emergency care with the Red Cross. It it would be abolished, it would be a big blow to these organisations.
The opinion polls are currently slightly in favor of abolishing the draft.
I´m currently very undecided about how I would vote on it, mostly because a professional army would likely increase spending for the Military and about the negative social impact of abolishing the proven Civil Service.
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Here's an article about the military and the draft:
Austrian Army aims to sell over 500 tanksThe Austrian army is to put more than 500 tanks up for sale, it has emerged.
Social Democratic (SPÖ) Defence Minister Norbert Darabos announced today (Mon) that he has decided to reduce the federal army’s tank fleet by 578. The minister also said the army will sell 100 armoured howitzers.
Darabos explained his decision as a result of the "changed threats" which face Austria today. The minister explained it was unlikely that Austria – a neutral nation by constitution since 1955 – could be engaged in tank warfare in the foreseeable future.
The defence minister claimed that the amount the army will make from selling the tanks and vehicles was "not that important", adding that his "chief priority is lowering the army’s operating costs by 12 million Euros a year".
The Hungarian government has already shown interest in purchasing some of the tanks, according to reports.
Darabos also announced he wanted to reduce the army’s staff by 1,000 during the coming four years, mostly by not assigning new personnel when employees retire. The defence minister also said he will ask hundreds of the army’s current office workers to leave and start working for the finance ministry or the police.
The Austrian army currently consists of nearly 16,000 full-time solders and 9,200 civilian personnel such as secretaries and chefs.
Speaking about the federal army’s representation in federal capital Vienna, the minister revealed he planned to shut and sell seven barracks across the city. Darabos said: "I imagine we will earn 30 million Euros by selling those facilities."
The defence minister claimed all buildings up for sale soon were "excellently situated", adding that the army’s Viennese departments will soon be located in just one barrack.
These extensive cost-cutting measures follow months of heated debate between coalition partners SPÖ and the People’s Party (ÖVP) over the future of the Austrian army.
The SPÖ had vehemently defended the Austrian conscription system for decades, before Viennese SPÖ Mayor Michael Häupl suggested a referendum should be held over the issue.
Commentators said the statement was nothing but an attempt by Häupl to retain his party’s absolute majority in the city parliament since it came a week before residents of Vienna were set to vote. Around 49 per cent were enough for a majority in seats for the SPÖ in the Viennese election in 2005. The Social Democrats only received 44.24 per cent in the most recent city parliament election held on 10 October.
Public opinion agency Karmasin found earlier this year that 80 per cent of Austrians consider natural disaster protection to be the army’s top responsibility, while only 15 per cent named defence.
The number of people supporting the abolishment of the six-month army service is understood to be on the rise. In what is regarded as the expression of many people’s opinion, Häupl said: "The circumstances for Austria have changed dramatically. I also think that young men shouldn’t waste six months of their lives."
The influential Social Democrat said Austria would benefit as a whole if those currently called up by the army to serve for half a year would start to work or start studying at university right after finishing school.
Greens MP Peter Pilz branded the current system as a "money sink". The right-wing Alliance for the Future of Austria (BZÖ) has also spoken out in support of a reform of the army. Pilz said he could imagine organising a referendum on the issue.
ÖVP Foreign Minister Michael Spindelegger suggested recently that the army should be allowed to pick the most-skilled young Austrians to serve the mandatory six-month service.
Around 46,000 Austrian men have to undergo two-day medical checks every year to find out whether they are fit enough for the conscription. More than 14,000 of the 25,800 who passed the series of checks opted to serve as Zivildiener in the so-called Zivildienst scheme last year.
Charity organisations and healthcare officials praise the alternative programme – in which the young men work in hospitals, retirement homes or for the Red Cross – as an essential support to their daily responsibilities, and warned from axing it as part of an possibly upcoming army reform.
Meanwhile, experts are at odds over whether a fully professional but smaller army would be more expensive than the current system. Some studies suggest the government would have to spend more money on the army if it abandoned the conscription model as soldiers are currently compensated with just around 300 Euros a month during their mandatory six-month duty.
The SPÖ-ÖVP coalition spends around 2.1 billion Euros a year – only 0.79 per cent of the gross domestic product (GDP) – on the army which currently participates in several international peacekeeping missions with around 1,200 soldiers.
Austria is just one of six of the European Union’s (EU) 27 member states which still have a conscription system. Sweden got rid of the model earlier this year, while the German government plans to reduce the federal army’s staff and stop calling up soldiers from 2011.
http://austrianindependent.com/news/Politics/2010-12-13/5626/Army_aims_to_sell_over_500_tanks
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