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Abstract
The medicalized interpretation of deafness has until recently seen the rights and protections of sign language users embedded in disability law. Yet the rights and protections crucial to sign language users centre predominantly on matters of language access, maintenance and identity. Legislators, motivated by pressure from sign language communities and in response to international human rights laws, have begun to enact statutes that include provisions pertaining to sign language. The New Zealand Sign Language Act 2006 (NZSL Act 2006 hereafter) made NZSL an official language but created minimal enforceable rights or obligations. This paper explores the significance of this legislation both in New Zealand, in comparison with the Māori Language Act 1987, and internationally, in comparison with the legislative situation in Finland. Finland is considered to be a leader in sign language user rights. Similarities between New Zealand and Finland such as geography, population size, type of government and economy provide for a comparative study. This paper considers whether the NZSL Act 2006 fulfilled the intention of Parliament and the desire of the Deaf community to make a material difference to accessing citizenship through NZSL, particularly in education, or whether there were possible non-community motives for the NZSL Act 2006 that prevented it from fulfilling its potential.
Notes
In accordance with the convention in literature regarding sign language communities and deafness, this paper uses uppercase D ‘Deaf’ to refer to the cultural collective of Deaf communities who use sign language and lowercase d ‘deaf’ to refer to audiological deafness in individuals and contexts where social identity is not necessarily uniform or specified. The notation of D/deaf is used to include both those who identify culturally and linguistically as sign language users and those with impaired hearing who may be more culturally aligned with the non-Deaf (majority) community. The D/deaf notation recognizes the fluidity and inherent complexities when making reference to individuals and to these two groups simultaneously (see Monaghan, Schmaling, Nakamura, & Turner, Citation2003; Napier, Citation2002; Valentine & Skelton, Citation2003, p. 4).
This document has been signed on behalf of Nga Kaiwhakapumau i Te Reo (Māori Language Commission) Wellington, New Zealand, by Piripi Walker, Hiurangi Waikerepuru; on behalf of the Finnish PEN Centre by Gisbert Jänicke and Raija Jänicke, Åbo Akademi University by Kjell Herberts and University of Helsinki by Tore Modeen and Jukka Havu. For the full text, visit www.linguistic-declaration.org/index-gb.htm
The ICADE was adopted by the General Conference of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization on 14 December 1960. For the full text, visit www.ohchr.org/english/law/education.htm
The ICRPD A/Res/61/106 was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on 13 December 2006. For full text visit www.ohchr.org/english/law/disabilities-convention.htm
For information on State Parties that have signed and ratified the ICRPD, see http://www.un.org/disabilities/countries.
The Education Act 1989 (Section 80) available at http://www.legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1989/0080/latest/DLM175959.html
Retrieved electronically February 15, 2009, from: http://www.minedu.govt.nz/educationSectors/SpecialEducation/PolicyAndStrategy/.
See for example the Mission and Values statements of Kelston Deaf Education Centre, at http://www.kdec.school.nz/?target= and the Charter of Van Asch Deaf Education Centre at: http://www.vanasch.school.nz/pdfs/Charter.pdf
See ‘Funding Allocation and Rates’ at http://www.tec.govt.nz/templates/standard.aspx?id=2906 for more information.
Equity funding is an initiative of the New Zealand Government which is designed to ensure that all children, from all backgrounds, can enjoy the benefits of quality pre-school learning.
Support and Assistance for the Disabled Decree (759/87).
Law on Basic Education 628/1998.
Law on Upper Secondary School 629/1998.
Law on Vocational Education 630/1998.
The Universities Act 645/1997 as amended by the Universities Act 715/2004.
Minister for Disability Issues, The New Zealand Disability Strategy, 2001. Retreived September 1, 2006, from http://www.odi.govt.nz/publications/nzds/index.html
New Zealand Bill of Rights Act 1990, No. 15, sections 23 and 24.
CASE LAW: Alwen Industries Ltd v. Collector of Customs [1996] 3 NZLR 226; R v. Lee Kun [1916] 1 KB 337; Kunnath v. The State [1993] 4 All ER 30 PC; R v. Tran (1994) 117 DLR (4th) 7; R v. Cooper [1997]DCR 632; 1997 NZDCR LEXIS 48; Police v. Macklin [1989] 3 NZLR 600, (1989) 4 CRNZ 563; R v. Ji [2004] 1 NZLR 59; Police v. Vickery [1995] DCR 54; Singh v. Simpson & Anor [1989] 1 NZLR 52, (1988) 3 CRNZ 459. REGULATIONS: Interviewing Suspects: Policy and Procedural Guidelines 1992; District Court Rules 1992 rule 495 and the High Court Rules 1908 rule 496.
Government department reports on 2007–2008 implementation of the Disability Strategy and NZSL Act 2006 are available at http://www.odi.govt.nz/nzds/progress-reports/index.html