Interpreter Alan Wendt signs as Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern speaks to media with Minister Carmel Sepuloni earlier this year. Photo / Marty Melville
Sign language interpreters will no longer be used during parliamentary question time because it is putting pressure on other services the small pool of interpreters offer deaf people, such as going to the doctor or school.
New Zealand Sign Language (NZSL) interpretation for oral questions, which are held in Parliament
for about an hour, three days a week, was introduced in May as an extension of an NZSL Week initiative.
Clerk of the House of Representatives David Wilson said a decision had been made jointly with Deaf Aotearoa to stop the service in response to concerns that resources were being stretched.
"The pool of interpreters is very small and we've been told that having interpreters at Parliament every day that the House sits is putting a lot of pressure on the services they offer in other areas like at the doctor, in schools or when getting legal advice," Wilson said.
"We've listened to those concerns and responded by returning to offering NZSL at Parliament for significant events."
