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Deaf MP must pay own costs

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Tue, 14 Feb 2012 1:28p.m.

Green MP Mojo Mathers (file)

Green MP Mojo Mathers (file)

New Zealand’s first deaf MP may be forced to pay $30,000 for technology to allow her participate in Parliament.

Speaker Lockwood Smith told the Green Party that Parliamentary services will not pay for the equipment Green MP Mojo Mathers needs to take part in Parliamentary debates.

Ms Mathers became the country's first profoundly deaf MP and the fifth in the world after last year’s elections.

Her first speech in the House tomorrow will be translated by sign-language interpreters.

However the Christchurch-based MP was unable to take part in Parliament last week because of the lack of equipment.

She needs electronic note taking equipment combined with a laptop or screen at her desk.

Dr Smith says she must fund this with her office budget, but a Green Party spokesman told stuff.co.nz that would mean she would have no money left for office costs.

The spokesman said this could dissuade parties from putting disabled candidates forward for election.

Parliamentary Services can cover costs for people with “physical disabilities” such as those in a wheelchair, but not the deaf, he said.

However, the Speaker's office told APNZ Dr Smith and Parliamentary Services did not have the authority to approve the extra funding and he would have to raise the issue with the Parliamentary Service Commission and the Government.

The Green Party is going to try to resolve the matter with officials.

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Comments

19 Feb 2012 05:40p.m.

Carlos wrote:

Good....she doesn't even have an electorate seat !

15 Feb 2012 08:16a.m.

Jim Seaview wrote:

SOLUTION: Funding to assist Mojo Mathers to get resources to do her job adequately in parliament could come from these three Government Departments who seem to spend hard earned taxpayers money as if the trough was bottomless.

Te Puni Kokiri
The head of the Ministry of Maori Development, Te Puni Kokiri, has been forced to pay back money he spent taking his wife to a number of flashy events. The taxpayer forked $1071 for hosting and return airfares


The Police Budget
Dotcom and three associates were arrested during the operation that involved up to 70 police, some armed, and including the Special Tactics Group and Armed Offenders Squad, and a police helicopter. All this to arrest one man for “Copyright Infringement”?? Costs - huge

The Justice Budget
Wellington-based Solicitor General David Collins QC spent more than $700 in a single day hiring ministerial BMW limousines to transport him to the "teapot tapes" High Court hearing in Auckland late last year.

15 Feb 2012 07:39a.m.

Jim Seaview wrote:

Quote: "Mr Smith has referred the issue to the Parliamentary Services Commission to consider whether Ms Mathers should get special funding, but that meeting is not until March and until then Ms Mathers is on her own. It begs the question, given Mr Smith has known about this for so long, why has it not been resolved?" Dr Smith has approved the Notebook. The two Co-Leaders of the Green Party have had 3 months to organise the manpower. I forgot = All the MPs have been on Annual leave. Nothing gets done over Xmas / new year.
There are 14 Green MPs and they should all donate just over $2000 each and the problem woud be fixed. If Mojo Mathers had won an electoral seat - I would agree that Parliament should cover all the costs, but I do not share the same for any "List MP" of any party that gets into Parliament via the Party List seats as no electorate personally voted them in or chose them. Mrs Mathers was chosen by the Green Party as a list MP. It is a lottery system. I respect and admire Mojo Mathers - but she has been let down very badly by her own Green party. One has to ask why the Green party has left it until now to raise the issue - some cheap publicity???



14 Feb 2012 09:02p.m.

johnmillan wrote:

Where is the problem,why can!t she be given the opportunity that all other politicians have in the house,Thus those BMW!S,Rental houses,etc etc.I don!t vote the green party but this should be supported by parliament.Take in consideration that the costs that the public never get too here what goes on down at the beehive.The leader of the house is one eyed many times in the house,as I watch it every Tuesday and find that he favours his own side most times at question time in the house.

14 Feb 2012 05:50p.m.

Gary wrote:

Cherie, your comments are typical of those who have no understanding of hearing loss. It is this kind of ignorance which creates discrimination against deaf or hearing impaired people. A person born with no arms, or a person with dyslexia, or a person who is blind, will often dismiss the label of 'disabled' because it is a limiting term, it diminishes the social status of the person, and acts as a stigma. However, that does not exclude such people from the right to support and resources to participate in society. Women who have babies claim the DPB, Are they disabled, or disadvantaged? Wise up Cherie, and think before you make such comments.

14 Feb 2012 04:00p.m.

phill wrote:

this is a disgrace, with all the money about to be spent on the Urewera trial,and other non sense politically correct rubbish, that is slowly degrading the fabric of our country,surely 30k is nothing in the grand scheme of things to the parliament services committee,although I am not a green supporter I think its an awesome thing to have a deaf person contributing to parliament, hopefully they will use their good ears to get some commonsense into their bureaucratic heads

14 Feb 2012 03:51p.m.

Alex wrote:

jesus christ of course she should have the equipment she needs to participate in parliament. sorry deaf people, it's gonna cost you $30K to exercise your *right* to stand for and be elected to parliament. that's monstrous

14 Feb 2012 03:12p.m.

cherie wrote:

Sorry but I agree with Mojo paying for this. Deaf people always tell us they are not disabled, that is when it suits. We wouldnt have to pay for a seeing eye dog? If she was voted in by sitting in an electorate then fine that means the pepole knew that doing so would cost 30k. The Green party put her on the list so they can pay it.

14 Feb 2012 02:35p.m.

Peter wrote:

Considering that sign language is the third official language of NZ, I'm disgusted at the treatment Ms Mathers has received. They can cover only those physical disabilities that you can see? Deafness IS a physical disability. PS: and if John Key was in need of some good publicity during the asset sales shambles, he'd sort this out toute suite.