Worth Richard: New Zealand Sign Language Bill — Second Reading 
Worth Richard: New Zealand Sign Language Bill — Second Reading 
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Dr RICHARD WORTH (National) 
: 
 For the benefit of those who are not present in this debating chamber and who are not watching what is occurring on television I say that there is at the moment a remarkable sight in this House. What we are saying in the speeches that as politicians we are making is being translated into sign language. For those of us watching this event it is truly remarkable to think that oral language can be translated in such a vivid visual way. 
Dr Hutchison has said on behalf of the National Party that we support this bill and we have supported it from the outset. The reporting back of this bill for its second reading is a splendid occasion and an exciting one. Of course that is not the end of its journey. There are further parliamentary steps that must be taken but the second reading is certainly one of the great steps. Lying ahead in the parliamentary process are first the Committee stage of this bill which we in National are confident will have a very satisfactory outcome and then finally the last stage the third reading following which the Governor-General will sign this bill and it will become part of the laws of New Zealand. 
We do well I think to remind ourselves of the exact extent of hearing impairment in the community. According to a New Zealand disability survey that was carried out by Statistics New Zealand approximately 223500 adults were either deaf or had a hearing limitation that could not be eliminated by a hearing aid in 2001. Ninety-five percent of adults who were deaf or who had a hearing limitation were living in dwelling houses. The remaining 5 percent were living in residential facilities. Sadly an estimated 18300 children were deaf or had a hearing limitation that was not then being corrected. Nine percent of those children used some type of equipment for hearing such as a hearing aid or an FM system. To complete the statistical picture two-thirds of the partially or completely deaf adults in households used some type of special equipment or service related to their disability. The most common types reported were a hearing aid and a volume-control telephone. 
Some 7700 partially or completely deaf adults living in households used New Zealand Sign Language and/or Signed English. Others in other places have made comments about the make-up of that very distinct and dynamic cultural group which represents the Deaf community. Of course New Zealand Sign Language is central to the culture of that community. Deaf culture like all cultures brings together a rich body of distinct customs mannerisms art humour and history as well as language. New Zealand Sign Language is a real language. It has its own grammatical structure and it is different from that of either English or Maori. As we can see vividly illustrated before us now it is not a collection of gestures or mime. It is like all other languages in that it can communicate a full range of concepts. 
Sign languages are not universal. I suppose some of us regard that as surprising because would it not be a great outcome if there were a universality in sign languages? But that is not so. Of course it means that New Zealand Sign Language is unique to our country. It is not used anywhere else in the world. It is also unique because it includes signs that express concepts from Maori culture. 
I would like to say something very briefly about the work of the Justice and Electoral Committee because that select committee as Dr Hutchison has said was privileged to hear a wide range of submissions across a broad grouping of topics. Although it is right to say that what Parliament is doing has in some sense a real symbolism about it in creating New Zealand Sign Language as an official language we are in fact concerned with much more than symbolism. 
From a legal perspective reflecting my background as a lawyer I was particularly interested in what this bill means when looked at in relation to the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act. The New Zealand Bill of Rights Act provides a statutory basis for a person who is deaf to access a New Zealand Sign Language interpreter in connection with criminal proceedings. What perhaps many of us have not sufficiently thought about and the Law Commission has brought this to our attention is that deaf people are disproportionately represented in the criminal statistics. Section 24(g) of the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act confirms the right of persons charged with an offence who cannot understand or speak the language used in court to have the free assistance of an interpreter. The provisions of the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act would require that a person who is deaf and who is involved in any processes that have a bearing on the resolution of proceedings has access to a New Zealand Sign Language interpreter. The situation I am talking about is where a person is charged with an offence and is defending himself or herself either unaided or with the assistance of a lawyer in a court. 
But there are wider implications surrounding the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act. That legislation provides sufficiently broad rights to ensure that a person who is deaf and who has been arrested or detained is not disadvantaged or discriminated against on the grounds of his or her disability during the police interview process. Others have spoken of examples of situations where that becomes critically necessary. If people are to have the reality of the rights given by the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act they need to be able to communicate clearly to the police or the other investigating authorities their position their view of events and their innocence. 
Dr Hutchison also spoke about aspects relating to the resourcing of this legislation. There is no doubt that if it is to work well we will need more Sign Language interpreters. I do not doubt that that will be a major task because the subtlety and significance of first of all absorbing the language and then interpreting it are skills that not many people will have. So I do not doubt that funding will be required that a commitment will have to be made and that volunteers will have to be sought so that this legislation will on the exciting day on which it becomes an Act have life breathed into it.