Stewart Barbara: New Zealand Sign Language Bill — Third Reading 
Stewart Barbara: New Zealand Sign Language Bill — Third Reading 
[Volume:630;Page:2590] 
BARBARA STEWART (NZ First) 
: 
 On behalf of New Zealand First it is with great pleasure that I rise to support the third reading of the New Zealand Sign Language Bill. New Zealand First appreciates that today is an extremely important day for the Deaf community as New Zealand Sign Language is given official recognition. This means that members of the Deaf community will have the right to communicate in their own language in legal situations in particular when the need arises. 
Approximately 28000 people use New Zealand Sign Language and an estimated 7000 of these people are deaf—a huge number indeed. Communication is essential for everyone in society and this bill emphasises that fact. 
New Zealand First pays tribute to the dedication commitment and leadership of all those involved in promoting and advancing this bill and we must mention here Minister Dyson. This bill has been a huge step forward in achieving the vision of a fully inclusive New Zealand society. We are very mindful of the fact that there is still work to be done to ensure that New Zealand Sign Language is given equal status with spoken languages. Today is the beginning. From this beginning we want to see other developments. As we said this bill is only the first step. 
We want to see initiatives aimed at increasing the number of interpreters who are available throughout New Zealand and the number of institutions in New Zealand that offer qualifications in sign language interpreting. Commitment to this is absolutely essential. There is a shortage of fully trained and competent interpreters in New Zealand as there is worldwide and it is a matter of urgency to attempt to correct this situation as much as possible. 
Communication and access to information are key issues for the Deaf community. All too often people are not able to participate fully in society because they cannot get the information they need in the form in which they need it. This bill does not determine competency in sign language. New Zealand First believes that competency is a basic requirement for interpreters as information must be relayed correctly. We are very aware that a lack of competency in this area could have significant consequences for the Deaf particularly in a health or legal environment. The Deaf community will no doubt monitor this situation carefully as will other agencies I am sure. 
The recommended review of the Act after 3 years will provide a platform for monitoring the implementation of this bill. We do not want to wait a further 20 years—or even another 3 years—before the next step towards progress is made. New Zealand First is very aware that there are many resource challenges in this legislation that must be met and we will await this review with great interest. 
We encourage local body councils to follow the example of the Wellington City Council and offer a sign language interpreting service to improve communication between the Deaf community and the council. We commend Wellington City Council for that initiative. 
In conclusion we must acknowledge the interpreter in the House today who is using New Zealand Sign Language. We appreciate her presence in this House. We must thank her too for interpreting our communication today and for sharing a small portion of this unique language with us. We also thank members of the Deaf community for coming to Parliament to support the passing of this legislation. Today is a cause for celebration and New Zealand First wishes the Deaf community well for the future. 
We want to see success with this legislation. It is with great pleasure that we support the third reading of the New Zealand Sign Language Bill.