ACT senator David Pocock denied Auslan interpreter for first speech in Senate

Independent ACT senator David Pocock has had his request for an Auslan interpreter in the Senate to translate his first speech denied by the major parties, who are worried about the “precedent” it would set.

Pocock, who will deliver his first speech to the Senate on Monday, had agreed to have an Auslan interpreter stand by his side, live translating his words for the hearing impaired.

The government has now offered to have screens on the floor of the Senate displaying an interpreter as a compromise.

Pocock said he would continue pursuing better accessibility.

“While disappointed that the major parties were unwilling to grant my request to have an Auslan interpreter on the floor, and the message this sends, I’m glad that there will be some measures in place to enable live translating, even though it isn’t in the inclusive and welcoming way our deaf community had hoped for,” he said

“I welcome Senator Wong’s commitment to pursuing better accessibility through the Senate Standing Committee on Procedure.

“Clearly we still have some way to go when it comes to aligning the lived values of the parliament with those of the people we have been elected to represent.”

The original request would have required permission for a “stranger” to stand on the floor of the Senate, a rarity in Australian parliamentary procedure that is usually reserved for visiting dignitaries.

Under the Senate rules, Pocock was required to ask both major parties and the Greens for permission for a “stranger on the floor”.

The Greens supported the move, which would have been an Australian first. But both the government and opposition blocked the move, over concerns it would set a precedent to invite more “strangers” into the chamber.

Pocock has invited members from the deaf community to attend his first speech, and said he would continue to pursue changes through the Senate procedure committee, once it is reformed.

“While I appreciate the Senate is a place of tradition and convention, I also believe there is a strong case to update and better reflect our community’s values,” he said in a statement.

“With some one in six Australians experiencing hearing loss, I think it is really important that we work harder to be more inclusive.

“We have been elected to represent all people in our community.”

Before the government offered a compromise, Jen Blyth, the CEO of Deaf Australia and one of the special guests Pocock had invited to attend the Senate said the outcome was “disappointing” for the deaf community.

“Deaf Australia is deeply concerned and disappointed by the government and opposition’s lack of foresight and regard for accessibility,” she said.

“The government and opposition have proven that inclusion and accessibility is never a certainty in political settings.”

Auslan interpreters played a major role during the height of the pandemic, appearing at press conferences and translating the health advice and political messages in real time. Some state governments have begun including Auslan interpreters as part of their regular press conferences, and the ACT legislative assembly is looking at ways to incorporate Auslan into more services.

In 2008, Democrat senator Natasha Stott Despoja invited an Auslan interpreter to her valedictory speech. Mandy Dolesji signed from the gallery.

“This is commonplace in some parliaments across the world, and I hope before too long that it is here as well,” she said.

“But for tonight, at least, the parliament is a little more accessible to members of the deaf culture in our nation, who are as worthy of respect as any other culture in Australia.”

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Stott Despoja had campaigned for better access for the deaf community during her time in the senate, driven by some of the barriers she had seen her mother encounter.

Nearly a decade and a half later, the fight has been taken up by Pocock, who said he would work with the department that oversees the parliament, and the Senate to improve access.

People want a better, more collaborative parliament and that is what I want to help achieve,” he said.

“For me, that means making our parliament more inclusive. I don’t want some people in our community to feel excluded, or separate.”

It is not the first time Pocock had publicly lent his support to making hearing spaces more inclusive for the hearing impaired.

Pocock, who unseated ACT Liberal senator Zed Seselja at the most recent election, will deliver his first speech after 5pm on Monday.