Heidemarie "Heidi" Cammerlander (born 26 September 1942) is an Austrian social worker and politician who served in the Municipal Council and Landtag of Vienna from 2005 until 2010, representing Leopoldstadt. A member of The Greens, she advocated for measures against drug and gambling addiction, including the establishment of safe consumption rooms and the banning of all low-cost slot machines in Vienna.
Heidemarie Cammerlander | |
|---|---|
.jpg) | |
| Member of the Municipal Council and Landtag of Vienna for Leopoldstadt | |
| In office 18 November 2005 – 25 November 2010 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 26 September 1942 Innsbruck, Austria |
| Political party | The Greens |
Biography
editHeidemarie Cammerlander was born on 26 September 1942 in the city of Innsbruck, Austria. After completing secondary school, she attended a commercial school (Handelsschule). Cammerlander worked as a manager and director for several social projects, including a program which provided aid for released prisoners; she also worked with a development cooperation firm in Guatemala.[1]
A member of The Greens, Cammerlander represented the party in the district councils of Landstraße and Leopoldstadt in Vienna. In the 2005 Viennese state election, she was one of fourteen Greens elected to the Municipal Council and Landtag of Vienna, representing Leopoldstadt.[1][2] Prior to her election, she was also an office manager for the Vienna Greens, and was the chairwoman of the local Green Education Workshop (Grüne Bildungswerkstatt).[1] While in the Landtag, Cammerlander was a member of the committees on migration and human rights, and was the social policy spokesman for the Vienna Greens.[3][4]
During her tenure, Cammerlander advocated for measures against drug and gambling addictions. She supported shifting drug policy to focus on "prevention, harm reduction and treatment",[5] and promoted the establishment of safe consumption rooms at the U-Bahn station in Karlsplatz, which had a large concentration of drug users.[6][7] She also criticized a renovation plan at the station, arguing that "turning Karlsplatz Passage into a glass case is not going to make drug addiction and alcoholism disappear".[8][9] Additionally, Cammerlander introduced a bill which would have banned small-scale gambling in Vienna,[10] citing an increase in gambling addiction, particularly among minors.[11] The bill targeted 2,000 "low-stakes" slot machines, which provided over 34 million euros in tax revenue for the city government per year; she argued that the low cost of the machines, which were capped by law at a maximum of fifty cents per game, made them much more attractive to minors.[12] She left office at the end of her term on 25 November 2010.[1]
References
edit
- ^ a b c d "Heidemarie Cammerlander". Government of Vienna (in German). Retrieved 2023-08-12.
- ^ "Chronik der Grünen Alternative als Parlamentspartei" [Chronicle of the Green Alternative as a Parliamentary Party]. FREDA (in German). Retrieved 2023-08-12.
- ^ Österreichischer Amtskalender für das Jahr [Austrian Official Calendar for the Year] (in German). Vienna: Verlag Österreich. 2008. p. 1321.
- ^ Lehner, Stephanie; Quirant, Rachel (2009-08-01). "Karlsplatz: Glas und Licht statt Drogenszene" [Karlsplatz: Glass and Light Instead of the Drug Scene]. Die Presse (in German). Retrieved 2023-08-12.
- ^ "Gemeinderat, 38. Sitzung vom 30.10.2008, Wörtliches Protokoll" [Municipal Council, 38th Session on October 30th, 2008, Verbatim Minutes]. Government of Vienna (in German). October 30, 2008. p. 13. Retrieved 2023-08-12.
- ^ "Verdi Propongono le "Stanze del Buco"" [Greens Propose the "Rooms in the Hole"]. droghe.aduc.it (in Italian). February 6, 2007. Retrieved 2023-08-12.
- ^ "Politischer Zwist um Drogenszene am Karlsplatz" [Political Dispute About the Drug Scene at Karlsplatz]. Kronen Zeitung (in German). 2010-05-28. Retrieved 2023-08-12.
- ^ "Wohlfühlraum Karlsplatz verursacht Kopfweh" [Feel-Good Space at Karlsplatz Causes Headaches]. ORF (in German). April 11, 2012. Retrieved 2023-08-12.
- ^ Kane, James; Nebehay, Franziska (November 1, 2009). "Polishing Up Vienna's Passages: A Major Facelift May Give New Life to the City's Historic Underground Walkways". The Vienna Review. Retrieved 2023-08-12.
- ^ "Änderung des Wiener Veranstaltungsgesetzes" [Amendment of the Vienna Events Act]. Austria Press Agency (in German). November 26, 2009. Retrieved 2023-08-12.
- ^ "Grüne Wege aus der Spielsucht" [Green Ways Out of Gambling Addiction]. Der Standard (in Austrian German). November 15, 2006. Retrieved 2023-08-12.
- ^ "Grüne wollen Verbot von Glücksspiel" [Greens Want Gambling Banned]. Isa-Guide.de (in German). 2006-04-13. Retrieved 2023-08-12.
Further reading
edit- Cammerlander, Heidi (13 March 2009). "Warten auf die nächste Mondlandung" [Waiting for the Next Moon Landing]. Die Presse (in German). Retrieved 12 August 2023.