Organisation: Deaf Aotearoa and Office of the Clerk of the House of Representatives

For release: 4 October 2018

Parliament to cease New Zealand Sign Language interpretation of oral questions

Parliament will work with Deaf Aotearoa to make more of Parliament accessible to the widest possible section of the Deaf community. New Zealand Sign Language (NZSL) interpretation of oral questions will cease, to allow better use of limited NZSL resources.

Planning is underway to provide NZSL access to information on the role and workings of Parliament and how Deaf people can engage with the business of Parliament. Parliament will continue to offer New Zealand Sign Language interpretation services for significant events from October.

New Zealand Sign Language (NZSL) interpretation for oral questions was introduced in May, as an extension of an initiative organised as part of NZSL Week.

Clerk of the House of Representatives David Wilson says the decision to stop offering NZSL interpretation for oral questions was a joint one, made with Deaf Aotearoa, in response to concerns resources were being stretched and that the Deaf community would gain greater benefit by accessing more NZSL information and education on the workings of Parliament.

“The NZSL interpreters we use are highly skilled and experienced. The pool of interpreters is very small and we’ve been told that having interpreters at Parliament every day that the House sits is putting a lot of pressure on the services they offer in other areas like at the doctor, in schools or when getting legal advice. We’ve listened to those concerns and responded by returning to offering NZSL at Parliament for significant events.”

This will include NZSL interpretation during oral questions in New Zealand Sign Language Week, Budget Day for the Budget Statement presented by the Minister of Finance and speeches from party leaders.

It will also be available during each stage of the Election Access Fund Bill, which was introduced on 22 February this year.

“We know some people in the Deaf community really liked the NZSL interpretation for oral questions so it’s a careful balancing act. For Deaf people fluent in English Parliament TV is also fully captioned. We’re committed to working with all communities to ensure they have the best access to Parliament possible with the resources available,” he says.

New Zealand Sign Language (NZSL) is one of New Zealand’s official languages and used daily by more than 20,000 New Zealanders.

NZSL translation of this media release: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DauANaSY2KI

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