New Zealand Sign Language: Soon to be a third official language for New Zealand.

1. New Zealand Sign Language: Soon to be a third official language for New Zealand. Deaf community meetings: Update December 2003

2. Today’s meeting agenda: • What Government have agreed to do (details) • 2. Update on work since May 2003, • and some issues that came up in this work • How YOU can influence the NZSL Bill • Questions & discussion

3. What Government have agreed to do • Cabinet have agreed to • Draft a NZSL Bill • Do more work on: • NZSL interpreters issues • Education, health, work and television issues

4. Draft NZSL Bill, will say • NZSL will be an official language, also promotion & maintenance of NZSL • Right to use NZSL in legal proceedings • NZSL interpreters in legal proceedings must be competent • Statement of principles to guide government agencies on how to recognise, promote and maintain NZSL • A reporting system to report on progress in following the principles.

5. Government will do more work to look at: • NZSL interpreter issues • Work on developing interpreter standards for courts • Review of government funding systems for NZSL interpreters • Education, health, work and television issues • Deaf people have many barriers in these areas. Plans to remove barriers will be developed in consultation with the Deaf community.

6. 2. Update on work since May 2003: Consultations Deaf community Government Departments Deaf Advisory Group Targeted 27 key government agencies Deaf community meetings 1st round: May 2003 Options for details of a NZSL Bill Why recognition of NZSL? Current problems without recognition? 2nd round: Aug 2003 Detailed proposals

7. 2. Update on work since May 2003: Some issues that came up in this work • Deaf awareness needed for government departments in May/June 2003. • Deaf community meetings showed clearly that recognition of NZSL as a real language is very low which means Deaf people do not have fair treatment • “Official recognition” – what does this mean? • Rights or principles?

8. New Zealand laws have some gaps. These gaps mean that Deaf people do not have the same right to their language as other New Zealanders, for example: • New Zealand’s human rights laws do not include ‘language’ as a prohibited ground of discrimination • NZ Bill of Rights Act • International models • eg: European Parliament • Two separate issues (i) access to services and information for Deaf people, and (ii) status for NZSL. • Intra-ground discrimination risk

9. 1 - 2 years Government agencies Parliament Everyone Practice NZSL Problem Standards Funding Research work Ministers Cabinet 1st Reading (debate) Select Committee 2nd Reading (debate) 3rd Reading (debate) Ideas

11. How YOU can influence the NZSL Bill Draft NZSL Bill introduced to Parliament Early 2004 (?February) First reading Parliament refers the Bill to select committee

12. How YOU can influence the NZSL Bill • The Select Committee: • Makes NZSL Bill public • Calls for submissions • Written • ? NZSL video • You can ask to meet the select committee to explain your submission points

13. Making a submission to a select committee can look something like this… You can find the booklet “Making a Submission to a Parliamentary Select Committee” at the Office of the Clerk’s website: http://www.clerk.parliament.govt.nz/Publications/Other/

14. 4. Questions and discussion • Questions and discussion • The Office for Disability Issues would like to ask for feedback on how we have involved the Deaf community in this work… • … and how can we make sure the Deaf community continue to be involved in this work?

15. For further information contact: Victoria Manning Office for Disability Issues PO Box 12 136 Wellington Email: Victoria.Manning001@msd.govt.nz Fax: +64 4 918 0075