Page 192 - Week 01 - Wednesday, 12 February 2020
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It seems that this government did not already have communication protocols that included engaging an interpreter for events of this type—not waiting until it was at a serious level but doing it right from the outset. It was about smoke and the health impacts. It was about not doing it just when a bushfire was potentially on your doorstep or just down the road but doing it beforehand so that people knew what was happening.
If the government do not have these types of procedures—some kind of checklist to say, “Quick, book an interpreter for the media conference later today or tomorrow or the next day”—this should be standard practice. Members of the deaf community and members of this Assembly should not have to remind this department—this government, this machinery—that it is their job to inform, educate, support and protect citizens. It is what they should be doing as business as usual; they should not be waiting to be reminded. Being reminded is one thing, but having to remind someone over and over again is tiresome for all concerned.
It should not be an incidental afterthought or an accidental afterthought. It should not be because someone has asked for it. It should be standard. It should be in your communication protocols, policies, procedures or whatever you want to call them. The term is irrelevant; the important thing is whether the information about having an Auslan interpreter is in there.
Another important point, and I have tried to acknowledge this in my motion, is that sometimes these broadcasts and what is shown to the public may be slightly out of the government’s control. I know from many years experience that sometimes camera operators zoom in on the speaker and may not show the interpreter even if an interpreter is there. I know that is the case. But I know that many organisations have worked with Free TV, ASTRA and other organisations to try to bring in guidelines.
When you have changing personnel, changing camera operators, what is the one way you can make sure that this happens? It is that the media adviser or whoever is organising and running the media conference says up-front at the start, “This is what will happen. You will include the interpreter in the frame.” Then everyone’s expectations are set right from the outset. It is a pretty simple thing. It is not something that requires a huge amount of work. You have called the media conference. You can manage it. And you should be managing it better.
When I spoke with members of the deaf community about the motion today, they were at pains to say that once they had made their requests or complaints, access was provided and they were deeply grateful.
I would like to acknowledge the main interpreter that we saw day after day, Mandy Dolejsi, who has appeared here in the Assembly as the interpreter. She is the only level 3 accredited Auslan interpreter that lives in Canberra, and she is a tremendous asset for our deaf community. But she cannot do everything. She cannot do every single piece of work herself. Sometimes we bring in people from interstate, and that is fine. Sometimes the government may be forced to use a level 2 interpreter rather than a level 3. That is better than not having any interpreter at all. Mandy goes on holidays.
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