The cuts which keep on hurting

new-zealand-labour-party

Thu May 06 2010 12:00:00 GMT+1200 (New Zealand Standard Time)

The cuts which keep on hurting

Thursday, 6 May 2010, 2:58 pm
Press Release: New Zealand Labour Party

The cuts which keep on hurting
Sign Language classes across the country have been stopped because of the Government’s cuts to Adult and Community Education, despite assertions to the contrary, Labour’s Tertiary Education spokesperson Maryan Street and Disability spokesperson Lynne Pillay say.

Maryan Street said last year Anne Tolley guaranteed that Sign language courses would be protected from the Adult and Community Education funding cuts, but Steven Joyce, in answers to oral questions in Parliament today, has been unable to guarantee this at all.

“The government may consider this to be 'low value spending' which they say they are intent on rooting out, but Deaf people, their families, friends and support people do not. Perhaps this is why the government is being so quiet during Sign Language Week?" said Maryan Street.

“Last year, Anne Tolley protested vehemently that I was wrong when I claimed Sign Language courses would be cut in 2010 because of the Adult and Community Education funding cuts. She said 'that is absolutely not the case'," said Lynne Pillay.

"Now we learn that sign language courses in Northland, Auckland, Hamilton, Bay of Plenty, Napier, Hastings, Hutt Valley, Christchurch and Dunedin have all been closed down,” Lynne Pillay says.

“I have even been made aware that because of funding cuts a young Deaf man wanting to undertake tertiary study has been told there is no ability to provide him with a sign interpreter.

“Just weeks ago Bill English was boasting about cutting low value programmes to put resources into frontline services. I am appalled that the Government believes programmes helping the Deaf and their supporters to communicate are low value and aren’t frontline," said Maryan Street.

“These cuts to sign language courses make a mockery of NZ ratifying the Convention for people with disabilities. Perhaps this is another convention the National Government regards as aspirational and non-binding,” Lynne Pillay said.

ENDS

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