1、Australia to invest in protecting aboriginal languagesThe Australian commonwealth government is going to invest about 2.6 Australian dollars in protecting the aboriginal culture and languages. In an announcement the made on February 14， the Australian government promised to help aboriginals and Torr
2、es Strait islanders to protect their own languages. The project was initially established in 1991 and now has become an important part of the project of reviving and maintaining the aboriginal features. The announcement said that the investment will be used to support 42 kinds of activities and even
3、ts， which can promote the society to expand and develop the language learning resources through the new media， or achieve the similar results through schools， cultural organizations and libraries. Senator Nigel Scullion said： “The Australian government supports the protection of the aboriginal langu
4、ages. It is a kind of investment into the priceless cultural heritages of Australian aboriginals and Torres Strait， a precious legacy for our descendants.” Many social groups can use the capital to digitalize the existing language learning materials. The audio and video products can spread the langu
5、age and culture among a greater number of people in Australia. It is known that the libraries in Northern Territory will host a center for the aboriginal language that provides easy access for the masses to the resources. These resources will be widely used and more appealing with the cardborn conte
6、nts， audios and videos. Australia to crack down on the corruption in labor unions Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott required the Royal Investigation Commission to launch thorough investigations into the corruptions of labor unions and relevant governmental officials in Australia. Abbott said tha
7、t he wanted to “focus the limelight on the dark corners”and bring legal punishment to those involved. Dyson Heydon， former grand justice of the Australian Supreme Court， will lead the Royal Investigation Commission to look into the corruption. The report is expected to be handed out before the end o
8、f this year. Recently， there are more and more cases about the corruption in several labor unions of Australia. As reported， the directors of these labor unions and senior governmental officials took the bribes from enterprises or even have relations with gangs. Tony Murphy， former chairman of Austr
9、alian National Plumber Association， once received huge commissions from contractors of the projects. He lived a luxury life and was even reported to have connections with criminals. In addition， a director of a construction company said that an official of labor union for construction， forestry， min
10、ing and energy used to ask his company to offer sponsorships to a Sydney-based football club with the promise of convenience for the bidding for projects. Brian Fitz-Patrick， who once worked in the labor union for construction， forestry， mining and energy for 25 years， said to the police that he tri
11、ed to stop the labor union from trading with criminals and got the life-threat warning from the senior officials of the organization. “Greenfield told me that you put your nose into too many places. I do not care how many policemen you have called， but I am coming to you tomorrow. You are a dead man
12、！” he recalled. In addition， Terry Keisby， the initiator of the labor union for construction， also threatened Fizt-Patrick for his “exposure of the deeds. “He will be tied to the tree by the parking lot.” Fitz-Patrick said that the labor union once offered him 300 thousand Australian dollars to make
13、 him shut up， but he refused it. Then， the labor unions made an internal investigation into it， during which they found more involved companies. These companies bribed the officials of labor unions with different methods in order to win the project during the bidding. For example， filling the budget
14、 of the vacation of the official and his/her families， providing luxury gifts， arranging high-end hotels for accommodation and cashes. The crackdown on the corruptions in labor unions got the support from the public. A citizen in Canberra said：“the anti-corruption measures are good， but the scope sh
15、ould be extended to other areas， such as the commerce.” However， Abbotts way of fighting corruption was criticized. Adam Banter， vice president of Green Party of Australia said that Abbott was trying to turn the Royal Investigation Commission into his own “private bully”.“Australia needs a fairer an
16、d more open anti-corruption agency， not the political persecution tool （Royal Investigation Commission） recently founded by him， ”he said. “Previously， the labor unions played the leading role in the boycott against the Abbott government. Now， he chose to crack down on the labor unions lest they will become a hurdle during his pursuit for the next term.”
