Crown having failed to plan and allocate Disabled Persons Assembly, and individuals’ resources for actual and projected demand and stakeholders’ input on projects. for te reo Māori. 129 This was found to have a direct impact on the maintenance of te The Commission is concerned that there is reo, as older native speakers passed away no formalised mechanism for the Ministry or and were not being replaced in sufficient other government agencies to access expert, numbers by younger speakers. strategic advice and guidance on NZSL. 130 The Tribunal emphasised the importance of Chapter 4 of this report considers possible the Government providing Māori medium options to meet this gap. education programmes that are highly effective and appropriately resourced.131 To The recommendations in this chapter focus avoid similar criticism in relation to NZSL, more specifically on steps required to it is a matter of urgency that steps are enable deaf children to realise their right to taken by the Government to improve the education through NZSL. In implementing level of NZSL fluent staff and resources in these recommendations, it is vital that the education. Ministry consults closely with deaf NZSL Partnership users, other NZSL users, the DECs, parents of deaf children and Deaf Aotearoa NZ. Over the years the Ministry of Education These groups would also have a role to play has engaged with the deaf community, within structures proposed in chapter 4 to parents of deaf children and the wider support the maintenance and promotion of sector to address the challenges of deaf NZSL. This is one reason why the Commission education. The DEANZ Trust was one strongly supports the Ministry of Education example of a government-community being the lead agency for any such body. partnership. It operated between 2000 and 2007, represented a wide range of deaf If the Ministry of Education is not the lead sector viewpoints and included a strong agency for maintaining and promoting NZSL expert presence. DEANZ aimed to NZSL, then the Commission strongly provide a strategic approach to promoting suggests that the Ministry establishes and providing NZSL in education. its own NZSL advisory group to provide specific guidance on deaf children’s access Since the ending of DEANZ, the Ministry of to education through NZSL. However, Education reports that it has continued to this is not the Commission’s preferred work with the deaf sector through a range option, given the reduced ability for cross- of forums and approaches. These include agency collaboration on all of the Inquiry’s the Special Education Advisory Group, the recommendations. DECs’ board of trustees, NZFDC, DANZ, the 46