Latest news with #governmentreform
SBS Australia
2 days ago
- Business
- SBS Australia
Power price hikes to be capped in some states under new government reform
Power price hikes to be capped in some states under new government reform Published 18 June 2025, 8:51 am Households along Australia's East-Coast will soon get greater protection from electricity price gouging and unjustified fees under government reforms intended to limit price hikes. It follows a 16.3-percent rise in national electricity prices over the March quarter as energy rebates came off in some states.
CNA
4 days ago
- Business
- CNA
Vietmam lawmakers abolish district-level government
HANOI: Vietnam's National Assembly approved amendments to the constitution on Monday (Jun 16) to abolish an entire level of government, as part of major reforms to the way the communist country is run. Lawmakers voted unanimously to do away with district-level administration, reducing the governmental structure to two layers – provinces and communes. The move is the latest in a series of drastic changes to Vietnamese government aimed at saving billions of dollars in expenditure by cutting one in five public sector jobs. In February they slashed the number of government ministries, resulting in 23,000 job losses. The dramatic changes echo the steps taken by US President Donald Trump and Argentina's Javier Milei to take an axe to government spending. But in a communist system where working for the state has long meant a job for life, the reforms piloted by party chief To Lam have caused some unease. Lam, the Communist Party general secretary and top national leader, has said the drastic restructuring is needed if Vietnam is to achieve "fast, stable and sustainable development" in its quest to be a middle-income country by 2030. The National Assembly also voted on Monday to reorganise the lowest level of government, reducing the number of communes from over 10,000 to around 3,300. With this "important reform", the size of communes will be expanded, Minister of Interior Pham Thi Thanh Tra said. The move will mean eliminating around 120,000 part-time jobs at the commune level, Tra said last week. The governmental reforms follow a huge, wide-ranging anti-corruption drive that has seen dozens of senior government figures and top business leaders caught up. Export-dependent manufacturing hub Vietnam is aiming for 8 per cent economic growth this year after hitting 7.1 per cent last year. But a 46 per cent trade tariff threatened by Trump is causing anxiety, and Vietnamese negotiators are locked in talks with their US counterparts to find a solution.
Associated Press
06-06-2025
- Business
- Associated Press
The implosion of a powerful political alliance: Trump and Musk in their own words
Last Friday, President Donald Trump heaped praise on Elon Musk as the tech billionaire prepared to leave his unorthodox White House job. Less than a week later, their potent political alliance met a dramatic end Thursday when the men attacked each other with blistering epithets. Trump threatened to go after Musk's business interests. Musk called for Trump's impeachment. Here's a look at the implosion of their relationship in their own words. The goodbye'Today it's about a man named Elon. And he's one of the greatest business leaders and innovators the world has ever produced. He stepped forward to put his very great talents into the service of our nation and we appreciate it. Just want to say that Elon has worked tirelessly helping lead the most sweeping and consequential government reform program in generations.' — Trump, May 30, Oval Office remarks ___ Trump invited cameras into the Oval Office last week to bid farewell to Musk, who said he was stepping away from his government work to focus on his businesses. Trump spoke effusively of Musk and his work with the Department of Government Efficiency for nearly 15 minutes straight. 'I'll continue to be visiting here and be a friend and adviser to the president,' Musk said. He marveled at the gold-tinged decorations Trump placed around the Oval Office. 'The oval office finally has the majesty that it deserves thanks to the president,' he said. The budget dispute 'I'm sorry, but I just can't stand it anymore. This massive, outrageous, pork-filled Congressional spending bill is a disgusting abomination. Shame on those who voted for it: you know you did wrong. You know it.' — Musk, Tuesday, post on X. ___ Days after their Oval Office meeting, Musk escalated his previously restrained criticism of Trump's 'big, beautiful' budget bill, the president's top congressional priority. Still, he kept his critique focused on their policy disagreement. He did not go after Trump by name, even as he called on Republican lawmakers to vote down the bill and threatened political retribution against those who took Trump's side. 'In November next year, we fire all politicians who betrayed the American people,' Musk wrote on X. Uncharacteristically for a man who rarely lets a snub go unanswered, Trump did not respond. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Musk's views on the bill were not a surprise to Trump, and his social media posting 'doesn't change the president's opinion.' Musk continued Wednesday, approvingly sharing social media posts and memes that criticized the budget's price tag and deficit impacts, though still directing his ire at Congress. The bitter breakup 'Elon and I had a great relationship. I don't know if we will anymore.' -- Trump, Thursday, Oval Office meeting with the German chancellor. ___ Trump said he was 'very disappointed in Elon' and was surprised by his benefactor's criticism. The war of words escalated rapidly from there. It all played out on their respective social media platforms, with Musk posting on X and Trump on Truth Social. Musk dismissed Trump's criticism. 'Whatever,' he wrote. He shared old Trump social media posts urging lawmakers to oppose deficit spending and increasing the debt ceiling. 'Without me, Trump would have lost the election, Dems would control the House and the Republicans would be 51-49 in the Senate,' Musk posted, a reference to Musk's record political spending last year, which topped $250 million. 'Such ingratitude,' he added. Trump said Musk had worn out his welcome at the White House and was mad that Trump was changing electric vehicle policies in ways that would financially harm Musk-led Tesla. 'Elon was 'wearing thin,' I asked him to leave, I took away his EV Mandate that forced everyone to buy Electric Cars that nobody else wanted (that he knew for months I was going to do!), and he just went CRAZY!' Trump wrote. He added: 'The easiest way to save money in our Budget, Billions and Billions of Dollars, is to terminate Elon's Governmental Subsidies and Contracts. I was always surprised that Biden didn't do it!' Musk goes nuclear 'Time to drop the really big bomb: Trump is in the Epstein files. That is the real reason they have not been made public. Have a nice day, DJT!' — Musk, Thursday, X post. ___ In a series of posts, he shined a spotlight on ties between Trump and Jeffrey Epstein, the financier who killed himself while awaiting trial on federal sex trafficking charges. Some loud voices in Trump's 'Make America Great Again' movement claim Epstein's suicide was staged by powerful figures, including prominent Democrats, who feared Epstein would expose their involvement in trafficking. Trump's own FBI leaders have dismissed such speculation and there's no evidence supporting it. Later, when an X user suggested Trump be impeached and replaced by Vice President JD Vance, Musk agreed. 'Yes,' he wrote. 'I don't mind Elon turning against me, but he should have done so months ago,' Trump wrote. He went on to promote his budget bill.
Fox News
04-06-2025
- Business
- Fox News
Speaker Johnson surprised by Musk's criticism of 'big, beautiful bill': He's 'flat wrong'
House Speaker Mike Johnson told reporters he was "surprised" by Elon Musk's criticism of the "big, beautiful bill" after the two of them discussed the legislation. While the speaker expressed confidence in the bill, he acknowledged that it took Congress "decades" to reach a point where the national debt has crept past $36.2 trillion and that it would take more than one bill to fix the situation. "The Trump administration needs four years to do all this reform, not two years. The Biden administration, Biden-Harris, made such a disaster of every metric of public policy, it's going to take us more than one bill to fix it all," Johnson said. The Republican House leader said he and Musk, whom he considers a "friend," had a "great conversation" about the "big, beautiful bill" Monday. The tech billionaire apparently joked that the bill could not be "big and beautiful," to which Johnson replied, "Oh, yes it can, my friend. It's very beautiful." "Elon and I left on a great note. We were texting one another — you know, happy texts," Johnson told reporters. The speaker added he was surprised when Musk came out against the bill the next day. "I think he's flat wrong," Johnson said. "I think he's way off on this, and I've told him as much." Johnson also praised the "obviously brilliant" tech billionaire for his work with the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) to cut government waste. Despite seemingly ending his tenure with the Trump White House on good terms last week, Musk came out swinging against the "big, beautiful bill," calling it a "disgusting abomination." "This massive, outrageous, pork-filled Congressional spending bill is a disgusting abomination. Shame on those who voted for it: you know you did wrong. You know it," Musk tweeted. Musk also retweeted multiple pleas from Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, for the Senate to improve the bill and avoid saddling Americans with more government spending. On Wednesday, during a weekly press briefing, House Republican leadership advocated for the "big, beautiful bill," saying it was necessary for funding the Trump administration's crackdown on illegal immigration. Multiple leaders, including Johnson and House Majority Leader Rep. Steve Scalise, R-La., cited the antisemitic attack in Colorado allegedly carried out by an illegal immigrant as an example why the bill's funding is needed. "We need to go find the other Solimans and get them out of America," Johnson said in reference to suspected Boulder, Colorado, attacker Mohamed Soliman, the Egyptian national accused of throwing Molotov cocktails at a group of people calling for the release of hostages being held in Gaza. Now that the bill has passed the House, it's up to Senate Republicans to meet President Donald Trump's July 4 deadline.
Globe and Mail
02-06-2025
- Business
- Globe and Mail
Public service reform is only possible if the Prime Minister champions the project
Donald J. Savoie is the author of Speaking Truth To Canadians About Their Public Service. It is clear that Ottawa is looking to get its fiscal house in order. On the campaign trail, the Liberals and Conservatives both talked about getting the cost of government operations under control, with both, pledging to reduce spending on outside consultants, currently running at $16-billion a year. Who could possibly disagree with that? But both parties were less forthcoming when talking about the ideal size of the public service. The Liberals pledged to implement a cap, a promise that makes some sense in a campaign because no difficult decisions are required until after the election; the commitment only matters if they win. But it also suggests that to them, the size of the federal public service is about right at current levels, even though it has grown by more than 40 per cent over the past 10 years. Now that the Liberals are back in power, however, a cap will prove unworkable. History has shown that these efforts will invariably generate new committees and countless meetings, which will only produce reports, not actual change. An ambitious reform of the federal public service is needed. It is necessary to improve morale, to streamline decision-making, to reduce the cost of government operations, to empower frontline managers, and to give meaningful careers to more public servants. It will be hard, and it may not be popular – I do not believe that it is possible to meaningfully reform the federal public service without taking a fresh look at the work of public sector unions – and so it will require a sustained commitment to see a bold agenda through to its end. Achieving this will require direct engagement from the most powerful man in the country: the Prime Minister. The current federal government is Ottawa-centric – indeed, Mark Carney is a former senior federal Finance official, and represents an Ottawa constituency in Parliament. The most senior public servants are typically a product of the Ottawa system, too; many have no private sector experience or even experience outside of Ottawa delivering programs to Canadians. This can be both good and bad: good because they have an intimate knowledge of how the government decides what does and does not work, but bad because career government officials are not known for charting bold reforms. Cutting public service staff is hard because there are no market forces and bottom line forcing the issue. As history has often shown, it is easier to let things drift until they leave government. Once outside government, officials are far more forthcoming about what needs to be done. In recent weeks, we have seen several of them in this newspaper and elsewhere calling for substantial cuts in the number of senior positions in Ottawa, in the number of cabinet ministers, in the size of central agencies and in programs. This calls for high-level decisions that go far beyond capping the public service. In the mid-1990s, Jean Chrétien's successful program review exercise showed that the Prime Minister must have a direct hands-on approach for an ambitious agenda to have any chance of success. It is an issue that Mr. Carney must own because it is his government, and the machinery of government matters cannot be delegated. The problem is that there is no shortage of urgent things for the Prime Minister to attend to. This, more than any other reason, explains why past public service reform efforts have failed. No other ministry is capable of taking up the project. The Department of Finance does not regard reforming government operations as part of its mandate. And while the Treasury Board does have the mandate, it doesn't have the will, the credibility or the support to pull it off, as it remains the poor cousin of central agencies, no match for the Privy Council Office or Finance. It can follow up on the government's commitment to cut back on the use of outside consultants, but that is probably as far as it can go. The government's agenda can be developed by asking a series of questions. What government structure is needed to promote a unified, single Canadian economy? How can we best redirect resources to high-priority areas such as trade and national defence? How can Ottawa pull back from more areas of provincial jurisdiction? The federal government has nearly 300 organizations, and it's time to weed out those that are past their best-before dates; the same can be said about some federal government programs. But unless the Prime Minister ensures that these questions are answered and action is taken, the government will be like the proverbial goldfish, going around and around in its bowl repeating nice castle, nice castle.
