BY JOHN NEBAUER

ADELAIDE — More than 200 people protested outside federal community services minister Amanda Vanstone’s office on July 28, demanding that funding for translating services for the deaf be restored.

The South Australian Deaf Society (DeafSA) was forced to close its interpreting services at the end of June because of a funding shortfall. Funding for Auslan, the sign language used by the deaf, had been funded by the federal immigration department until seven years ago. According to DeafSA CEO Barrie Mackie, DeafSA has funded the shortfall since that time, but is no longer in a position to do so.

“The commonwealth already provides ... interpreting for other non-English speaking people. But for some reason they exclude the deaf. And Auslan, which is the language of the deaf, is not English”, Mackie said.

Vanstone said that the federal government had commissioned a report on translation services needed by the deaf, but the report is not due for release until October. The government does not plan to provide funding in the interim.

Democrats senator Natasha Stott Despoja was presented with a petition on July 23 with more than 11,000 signatures. The petition called for the federal government to urgently fund interpreting services for the deaf and deaf-blind so that they “can have equitable access to private medical, dental and legal consultations as well as education and training and other life important events”.

From Green Left Weekly, August 6, 2003.
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