Dean Jacqui: New Zealand Sign Language Bill — In Committee 
Dean Jacqui: New Zealand Sign Language Bill — In Committee 
[Volume:630;Page:2171] 
JACQUI DEAN (National—Otago) 
: 
 I rise to speak to the New Zealand Sign Language Bill. I turn firstly to the schedule of the bill “Courts and tribunals before which New Zealand Sign Language may be used”. I want to talk about that subject from a personal perspective. It would be very easy to be somewhat flippant about the beneficial effect that having an interpreter to represent somebody before the courts may have. 
Some 20 years ago I was a supervisor working for the Salvation Army. I supervised young people who were failing—or had failed—under the education system who had left school and who were unable to get work. Those people were offered the opportunity—and I do say it was an opportunity—to be part of a Salvation Army work scheme the purpose of which was to teach not only work skills to young people but also life skills. 
When I was a supervisor with the Salvation Army there was a young man who was profoundly deaf. When he first came on the scheme as one of my trainees it was very hard to communicate with him because apart from that fact that he had let his hair grow down over his eyes so he did not have to look at people he had a bit of an attitude. He was an angry and not a very happy young man so it was difficult to communicate with him. When we did begin to communicate with him—of course the communication would be: “Go and dig over that piece of ground and we’ll grow some spuds.” or something like that—he began to become part of our team and I think he enjoyed his time as a trainee. 
I turn to Part 2 of the bill. Clause 7 outlines the right to use New Zealand Sign Language in legal proceedings. I will tell members why I think that it is terribly terribly important for people to have that right. In the years that went by the young man I have talked about—and I am going back 20 years now; he was 17 or 18 at the time I knew him—then began to appear in the district court over what could be seen as relatively trivial matters to do with motor vehicles and vandalism. Although he might have been represented by counsel to the best of their ability one can only imagine the effectiveness of counsel who were trying to communicate with somebody who was profoundly deaf. 
Having known that young man I know that he like a great many other young people was actually very scared and very vulnerable underneath. When one is faced with an appearance in the district court which is somewhat like a factory it is frightening and very scary and every person in New Zealand deserves all the help he or she can get. So I support the right of everybody in New Zealand including those people who require the use of New Zealand Sign Language to have that service available to them in any court in the land. I guess that privilege would have to be extended to the Family Court. Members can imagine how very difficult it is for anyone to appear in front of any kind of judicial court. So I completely support the provisions in clause 7 of Part 2. 
I just want to turn to new section 10A “Review of operation of Act” which is proposed to be inserted by clause 10 of the bill. That provision gives the Minister the opportunity to sit back and evaluate whether the legislation is really working and again I think it is a very good part of the bill.