Concerns for deaf people as services limited

Sign language interpreter Jenn Gilbert, along with her colleagues, became a familiar sight at the daily press briefings during the Covid pandemic. Deaf Aotearoa says limited resources are hindering the everyday lives of those in the deaf community. File picture

Sign language interpreters are becoming a more familiar sight with seemingly never-ending civic emergency announcements and regular government announcements during the peak of the Covid-19 pandemic.

But what about the general election, and everyday life for those who cannot hear?

Dot McCulloch, of Care and Craft Centre Gisborne, says general elections are just as important as Covid and civic emergencies.

Many of her deaf patrons at Care and Craft told her that they felt excluded during media coverage of the election because of the lack of sign language interpreters or captions at the bottom of TV screens.

Deaf Aotearoa chief executive Lachlan Keating said the organisation was concerned for deaf people going about their ordinary everyday lives looking for information and assistance in a world where most people communicated with the spoken language.

But resources were limited.

Deaf Aotearoa was looking for continuous improvement in election coverage.

“We worked very closely with (former Prime Minister) Jacinda Ardern and her office.

“They were great to work with.

“We hope that (Prime Minister-elect) Christopher Luxon will carry that on.

“We’ve already been in touch with his office.

“We’ll be hoping he is as embracing as his predecessors have been.

“In 2020 we interpreted the three election debates on TV1, and in 2023 we did the three election debates, but for the final leaders’ debate on the Thursday before election day, we also did the panel discussion.”

That was continuous improvement, but the number of qualified interpreters in the country had only increased incrementally.

Gisborne had only one New Zealand Sign Language qualified interpreter.

One other could be moving to Gisborne in the new year but that was yet to be confirmed.

Lack of trained interpreters was a key issue and Deaf Aotearoa continued to advocate for more training and funding,  Mr Keating said.

AUT offers a three year full-time degree course, with students completing the course receiving a Bachelor of Arts with a major in New Zealand Sign Language - English interpreting.

Ongoing professional development was required, Mr Keating said.

He estimated there were only “120-odd” fully qualified interpreters in New Zealand.

That compared to between 500 and 800 in Denmark, a country with a similar population.

New Zealand was very under-resourced.

Long-serving disabilities advocate Nona Aston said that as deafness was not seen, people did not get too emotional about it unless they or their families were affected.

Sign language is an official language in New Zealand but was not taught in schools.

“Many communities such as ours are not encouraged to participate in learning or even thinking about participation.

“If sign language was part of learning when young for the whole country we would have a far better chance to overcome the barriers for the deaf.

“It would also help those who have difficulty with speech.

“There are opportunities with new technology for better hearing aids and aids to hearing but all this is costly even after being subsidised.

“The deaf miss out on interviews and debates. Some TVs have words on their screens so you can follow the conversation, but again it costs and our deaf are not all able to have that privilege.

“All this will take time and it will need a very big change in what the leaders of our country and organisations think our priorities are.

“Is deafness only a priority of the deaf and their families?

“There is never enough money, or desire to change the lives of people who struggle day by day to really participate in all aspects of life, to be truly embedded in society.

“Those who are, are indeed blessed.

“I pray that one day every disabled person will have the joy of an enabling full life.

“Not everyone is able, but, everyone should be able to live a life which gives them the ability to have as full and joyful a life as they are able.

“To all leaders and decision-makers, disability does not mean less of a life.

“It means more of a life with your help and with a community that truly cares,”  Mrs Aston said.

The National Party’s disability and carers spokesperson Maureen Pugh said National was committed to supporting New Zealand’s disabled community.

“The lack of captions has been raised many times by people in the disability sector and I take the concern seriously.

“The provision of sign interpreters is often constrained by the lack of people available to provide the skill, and I am not aware if it was considered as an option by media outlets.”

No other party responded to our request for comment.