New Zealand Sign Language Act 2006 | |
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New Zealand Parliament | |
Enacted by | House of Representatives |
Royal assent | 10 April 2006 [1] |
Commenced | 10 April 2006 |
Legislative history | |
Introduced by | Hon. Ruth Dyson |
Introduced | 7 April 2004 |
First reading | 22 June 2004 |
Second reading | 23 February 2006 |
Third reading | 6 April 2006 |
Summary | |
Recognising New Zealand Sign Language (NZSL) as New Zealand's third official language | |
Status: In force |
The New Zealand Sign Language Act 2006 is an act of the New Zealand Parliament recognising New Zealand Sign Language (NZSL) as New Zealand's third official language.
Historically, NZSL users have been subject to social deprivation due to the lack of recognition [2]
In April 2006, the New Zealand Government announced that New Zealand Sign Language would become New Zealand's third official language following English and Maori, which would allow the ability to use and access NZSL in legal proceedings, incluing in court. [3]
Five years after the bill passed, many public services were still inaccessible in NZSL. [4]
Recognising NZSL as an official language of New Zealand, Air New Zealand released updates to its in-flight videos making them accessible in NZSL. [5]
Victoria University of Wellington is a public research university in Wellington, New Zealand. It was established in 1897 by Act of Parliament, and was a constituent college of the University of New Zealand.
The Treaty of Waitangi, sometimes referred to as Te Tiriti, is a document of central importance to the history of New Zealand, its constitution, and its national mythos. It has played a major role in the treatment of the Māori people in New Zealand by successive governments and the wider population, something that has been especially prominent from the late 20th century. The treaty document is an agreement, not a treaty as recognised in international law, and has no independent legal status, being legally effective only to the extent it is recognised in various statutes. It was first signed on 6 February 1840 by Captain William Hobson as consul for the British Crown and by Māori chiefs from the North Island of New Zealand.
New Zealand Sign Language or NZSL is the main language of the deaf community in New Zealand. It became an official language of New Zealand in April 2006 under the New Zealand Sign Language Act 2006. The purpose of the act was to create rights and obligations in the use of NZSL throughout the legal system and to ensure that the Deaf community had the same access to government information and services as everybody else. According to the 2013 Census, over 20,000 New Zealanders know NZSL.
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English is the predominant language and a de facto official language of New Zealand. Almost the entire population speak it either as native speakers or proficiently as a second language. The New Zealand English dialect is most similar to Australian English in pronunciation, with some key differences. The Māori language of the indigenous Māori people was made the first de jure official language in 1987. New Zealand Sign Language (NZSL) has been an official language since 2006. Many other languages are used by New Zealand's minority ethnic communities.
The Māori Language Act 1987 was a piece of legislation passed by the Parliament of New Zealand that gave official language status to the Māori language, and gave speakers a right to use it in legal settings such as courts. It also established the Māori Language Commission, initially called Te Komihana Mo Te Reo Maori, to promote the language and provide advice on it. The law was enacted as the Maori Language Act 1987 and originally written without macrons.
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In New Zealand law and politics, the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi is a phrase used in the Treaty of Waitangi Act 1975. It is a set of principles derived from, and interpreting, the Treaty of Waitangi. These principles were codified in 1987, partly an attempt to reconcile the different Māori and English language versions of the treaty, and allow the application of the treaty to a contemporary context.
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Because the sign languages of Deaf people have been historically denigrated as less than fully language-like and even conducive to social deprivation, discussion of their political status necessarily starts by confirming that they possess the characteristics of natural human languages.
The immediate effect of the New Zealand Sign Language Bill, which is expected to pass this afternoon after its third reading, will be to provide people with the right to use and access New Zealand Sign Language (NZSL) in legal proceedings, including in court.
"We're thrilled we could support NZSL Week and recognise its importance as an official language of Aotearoa by encouraging our crew to show their signing skills on this flight," Collett said.