Hutchison Paul: New Zealand Sign Language Bill — First Reading 
Hutchison Paul: New Zealand Sign Language Bill — First Reading 
[Volume:618;Page:13784] 
Dr PAUL HUTCHISON (National—Port Waikato) 
: 
 It gives me great pleasure to support this very important New Zealand Sign Language Bill on behalf of the National Party. Like other members I find the genesis and history of this bill both concerning and fascinating but definitely inspiring. I want to pay tribute to members of the Deaf Association of New Zealand who over many years have worked extremely hard to overcome the many obstacles and hurdles that have confronted them. Today we celebrate their success. 
I remember very vividly as a child living with my 90-year-old grandmother for a further 9 years until she was 99. She was profoundly deaf and we literally used to have to get very close to her and make extremely loud noises in her ear. At times that could be frustrating both for my grandmother and for us. However the point of saying this is that in the 1960s our household had no concept of using sign language. That clearly was an omission by us but perhaps it was also a reflection of the times and just what obstacles Deaf people had to confront and overcome. 
I want to spend a few moments going over some of the long history of obstacles that Deaf people in New Zealand have had to confront since the mid-1850s. I noted the history from the notes that were provided by the Deaf Association of New Zealand. Apparently British sign language was introduced to New Zealand back in the 1980s by Deaf migrants pupils attending Deaf schools and tutors working in New Zealand. But how difficult it must have been—if one were living in isolation out on farms or perhaps out even on a whaling station as my forebears were—for a Deaf child to have access to these facilities. 
But in 1878 William Rolleston one of the South Island MPs introduced a bill to fund an institution for the Deaf. The Government however decided on oral education only. There was no acceptance at that stage of sign language but a few years later Gerrit van Asch an expert on oral education came to New Zealand to open a school for the Deaf in Sumner. What was concerning was that only 14 students enrolled at Sumner as no signing students were accepted at the time. 
By the 1880s school-leavers from Sumner and overseas formed Deaf communities. School signs and British Sign Language combined to form the New Zealand Sign Language which has since evolved as a sign language absolutely unique to New Zealand and one with the characteristics appropriate and sensitive to the various cultures of our country. In 1904 an Act of Parliament meant parents had to enrol their children at Sumner but signing was forbidden. However children signed in dormitories and developed their own signs. Some staff were former pupils and probably introduced some of the signing as well. So it is from those early beginnings that I understand that the New Zealand Sign Language has evolved and developed. 
But in 1983 the Deaf Association of New Zealand was persuaded by its hearing president to accept Signed English as the official sign language—in the belief that anything else would prevent Deaf children from having any kind of access to manual communication. From there work carried on so that by 1992 a New Zealand Sign Language dictionary had started at Victoria University and in the latter part of that year the New Zealand Sign Language Tutors’ Association was started up. In 1998 the  
Dictionary of New Zealand Sign Language 
 was published—a milestone. 
I understand that sign language itself is a visual gestural language used by Deaf people and I believe it is a great honour and privilege to see this happening as we speak today. It is a unique experience for me as a parliamentarian and I feel extremely humbled to be part of the process that has brought this legislation into the House today. I note that sign languages differ from country to country just as spoken languages do. The International Sign Language is Gestuno which is used at international conferences and meetings and the European Union recognises sign language as an official language. 
I will be very interested how the select committee deals with the ability of the New Zealand Sign Language to be consistent with—and hopefully absolutely in line with—the International Sign Language so that New Zealanders who are familiar with the New Zealand Sign Language have no difficulty with the universal sign language which is clearly acceptable throughout the world. I also understand that the New Zealand Sign Language is unique in that it includes signs that express concepts from Maori culture. 
As an obstetrician I have been incredibly mindful of the fact that hearing disabilities from birth can profoundly disadvantage people affecting them both in terms of their ability to gain school qualifications and to achieve gainful employment. It was obvious to me in the 1970s and 1980s that many children in New Zealand were missing out on appropriate access to doctors and modern ear surgery and became profoundly deaf at an early age. They had difficulty in school they often did not gain qualifications they could not get jobs and an even worse scenario was that some turned to crime. Even worse they got caught because they could not hear the policeman coming! This was backed up by a study taken of the Mount Eden Prison muster in 1980 where something like 90 percent had some form of hearing defect and many had profound deafness. 
I end by just pointing out that we in the National Party are hugely mindful of the milestone that has been achieved by this legislation today and we support it. I pay tribute to the Deaf Association of New Zealand for having overcome all of those obstacles and hurdles that have bedevilled many people with hearing disabilities over the last 120 years. Today indeed is a landmark day and I wish to celebrate it with those from the Deaf Association who are here in the Parliament today with the passing of this New Zealand Sign Language Bill. 
Bill read a first time and referred to theJustice and Electoral Committee.