Foreword Deaf people, and sign language, deserve equality in New Zealand. In 2006 New Zealand passed an Act to enshrine this belief ... today, we have the potential and capacity to achieve the dream, and change futures for Deaf people now and for future generations. All we need now is for decision-makers to listen, and develop the will to act. – Sonia Pivac E ngā mana, e ngā reo, rau rangatira mā, and audible applause. The rights of disabled t ēnā koutou. Tihei Matariki. people, including the language and cultural rights of deaf people became international Ka pō, ka ao, ka awatea. law in May 2008 when the Disability Convention came into force. This was a new To you all as leaders with wisdom and era in disability rights, the sign of a new diverse languages, greetings. dawn for disabled people around the world. Matariki emerges from the darkness and A few years later earthquakes devastated breathes again, the sign of a new dawn. the Canterbury region. Many of the usual ways of communicating and informing When the New Zealand Sign Language people of what was happening were not (NZSL) Act was passed by Parliament, the available. Some of the early television gallery of deaf people erupted, raising broadcasts included NZSL interpreters. and waving their hands in applause. For many New Zealanders this was seeing NZSL became an official language of something new – realising that NZSL is a New Zealand alongside English and te whole and vibrant language. The use of reo Māori. It was a new era in the right to NZSL interpreters recognised the diversity sign, the sign of a new dawn for deaf New of people and communication needs within Zealanders. our communities. It was a first sign of hope emerging amid the devastation – the sign of Later that year, the United Nations adopted a new dawn for all New Zealanders. the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (Disability Convention). However, leading up to the initial post- Again, this was met with a mix of visible quake response on TV, the situation behind 5