Parliament's
first profoundly deaf MP makes her maiden speech on Wednesday, as the
battle continues over how to accommodate her needs in the debating
chamber.
Mojo Mathers, one of seven new Green MPs, has been chosen
to lead the party's maiden speeches, and there'll be sign language
translators in the debating chamber to mark the event.
Each of the
speeches on Wednesday will be translated into sign language which will
be broadcast on a split screen on parliament's TV service.
Ms
Mathers, who has been deaf since birth, has a small screen on her desk
so she can lip read but says the cameras don't always focus on MPs who
are on their feet.
The Greens want someone to take notes which can be sent to her laptop in the chamber.
However,
Speaker Lockwood Smith says he is unable to allocate extra money from
existing budget appropriations for a note-taker, meaning Ms Mathers and
the Greens will have to find the estimated $30,000 cost within their own
staff budgets.
"I can't, under the law, simply say `forget about that, we'll just put a bit of money in from here or there'," Dr Smith says.
"It's something that I have to consult on ... before I seek to alter any of the staffing support for members."
He
says the parliamentary service and office of the clerk are working with
Ms Mathers to cater to her needs, including providing software for her
laptop.
They were also looking into voice recognition technology which could be used by a note-taker.
Dr
Smith will meet with the parliamentary service commission in March to
discuss the issue, while parliament's appropriations review committee
will look at the wider issue of how support is allocated to MPs.
The committee last year allocated extra funding to far-flung rural MPs.
NZN