Deaf MP to pay for own technology

[Miss-Delectable]

Deaf MP to pay for own technology - National - NZ Herald News

The Green Party is furious after Speaker Lockwood Smith refused special funding for deaf MP Mojo Mathers in Parliament, and says the move amounts to discrimination.

Ms Mathers currently uses an electronic notetaker, which provides an instant transcript of what is being said in the House, to participate in Parliament.

However, Ms Mathers told media this afternoon that Dr Smith had told her she would have to fund the notetaker from her MP support budget, or that the party would have to fund it.

However, the Speaker's office said Dr Smith and Parliamentary Services did not have the authority to approve the extra funding.

"He would have to go to the Parliamentary Service Commission, he'd have to go to the Government and ask for additional funding to do what she wants because its not part of the appropriation,'' a spokeswoman said.

Dr Smith would raise the issue at next month's Parliamentary Service Commission meeting.

New Zealand First leader Winston Peters has offered to contribute funding from his parliamentary leaders' budget for Ms Mathers to take part in Parliament and challenged other leaders to do the same.

"It is unthinkable that the Parliamentary Service insists on a working environment free from discrimination on the basis of disability yet a deaf MP is refused funding to enable her to do her job.

"Other physical disabilities are recognised in the parliamentary environment and it is outrageous that deafness is not included," said Mr Peters.

 

[TWA]

A deaf MP??? Wow! This is the first I've ever heard of a deaf lawmaker at the national level, in ANY nation. Incredible. I am going to have to do some research.

 

[racheleggert]

Actually there was one in Canada, and his name was Gary Malkowski. Met him years ago when he visited States. He had interpreter with him for meetings and I met one of his interpreter years ago at a conference.

If I am elected to legislature, they would have interpreter ready since they have contract with a agency that provides interpreting service.

 

[TWA]

Actually there was one in Canada, and his name was Gary Malkowski. Met him years ago when he visited States. He had interpreter with him for meetings and I met one of his interpreter years ago at a conference.

If I am elected to legislature, they would have interpreter ready since they have contract with a agency that provides interpreting service.

Well hey, ya learn something new everyday!

Are you running for office?

 

[Miss-Delectable]

Deaf MP warns of dangerous precedent - Story - Politics - 3 News

Deaf MP Mojo Mathers warns that being forced to pay for note-takers so she can participate in parliamentary proceedings will set a dangerous precedent.

The Green MP, who is the country's first profoundly deaf MP, will make her maiden speech on Wednesday, with sign language translators in the debating chamber to mark the event.

Meanwhile, the battle continues over who should pay for note-takers to assist Ms Mathers follow speeches and debates, after Speaker Lockwood Smith said the staff must be funded from Ms Mathers' staff budget.

Ms Mathers says it's unfair that she should have to pay the estimated $30,000 cost.

"At the moment, the parliament service pays for support of the other members of parliament in the house - things like Maori translation, there is the sound system - some of which I cannot use," she told Radio New Zealand.

"Because I am the first person with a profound hearing impairment, they're seeing this as an individual issue, but it's not.

"It's about the right of all members to participate in the house and be supported by parliament to do that."

Ms Mathers says she won't be able to do her constituency work effectively if she has to spend her budget on participating in the house.

"We shouldn't be having to make these kinds of choices," she said.

"There will be more hearing-impaired and deaf people [coming] into parliament, there will be other disabled people with specific needs go into parliament.

"This is the future - it is becoming more representative of New Zealand."
Dr Smith says he is unable to allocate extra money from existing budget appropriations but will meet with the parliamentary service commission in March to discuss the issue.

Ms Mathers wants that meeting brought forward and the matter resolved urgently.

Green Party co-leader Dr Russel Norman spoke to Firstline this morning, saying that this is the first time since Mrs Mathers’ election the party and Parliamentary Services have not seen eye-to-eye.

“We’ve worked with them since the election and they’ve been pretty good, so we’ve made some progress, but the outstanding issue is the labour cost if you like of the transcriber, so they’re saying they won’t pay for that, we’re saying that it’s actually just part of Mojo doing her job like any other MP,” he says.

“We’re happy to pick up the cost when Mojo’s in the Green Party offices or something like that, we don’t expect Parliament to pick up that cost, but the cost when she’s in the chamber and Select Committee we do expect Parliament to pick up. This will go to a further series of meetings and I’m sure eventually we’ll see our way through it.”

The digital service is not the end of the issue though, with Dr Norman revealing there are works afoot to ensure all Parliamentary debates are accessible for the hearing impaired.

“This is a little bit of an interim measure, in the long run where this is going is towards live captioning of Parliament, which will benefit not just Mojo but everyone who’s watching Parliament who’s hearing impaired,” he says.
New Zealand First leader Winston Peters quickly offered up $6,000 of his party’s staff budget to help the Greens, but Dr Norman says he is
uncomfortable accepting the money.

“We haven’t thought about if we’ll accept others, we’ll certainly make sure it happens, part of it is I don’t like the charity model, if you’re a disabled person there’s nothing worse than having to put your hat around all the time and get charity from everyone just to do your job.

“I think it’s a very generous offer […] but it’s much more important that we get the principle right, deaf people have a right to be in Parliament,” he says.
And the Greens co-leader says Mrs Mathers’ is just the latest in a long line of New Zealanders who have enforced a change in society.

“Mojo’s just breaking through a barrier, there’s all sorts of barriers that different groups that have been discriminated over the last 100 years have faced, whether they’re women or Maori or whatever,” he says.

 

[Banjo]

Actually there was one in Canada, and his name was Gary Malkowski. Met him years ago when he visited States. He had interpreter with him for meetings and I met one of his interpreter years ago at a conference.

If I am elected to legislature, they would have interpreter ready since they have contract with a agency that provides interpreting service.

Actually, Gary was not a member of the federal parliament but the provincial parliament. Alex was referring to the national level, but yes, it was quite a significant milestone at the time of the event. Gary was the first deaf person in the world to become a member of a parliament. He went to the same school as I did, but in different times. When he went there, he was not allowed to sign, no students were allowed to sign at the school until the mid-80s.

I believe he works for the CHS now. CHS stands for Canadian Hearing Society.