Steve Georganas (Hindmarsh, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I move:

That this House:

(1) acknowledges the important and vital role played by professional interpreters and translators in Australia;

(2) notes that:

(a) Australia has been at the forefront of the provision of language services since the late 1970s, becoming one of the first countries in the world to mandate and subsidise the use of interpreters and translators for all people whose first language is not English when accessing public services; and

(b) the provision of regulated and accredited language services is fundamental to enabling people whose first language is not English to fully participate in society and Australia;

(3) notes and commends the professionalism and ethical behaviour of National Accreditation Authority for Translators and Interpreters accredited interpreters and translators, and the important contribution of their work to our country's social cohesion; and

(4) acknowledges the importance of supporting the interpreting and translating industry and practitioners through appropriate training, professional development, regulation, recognition and remuneration.

Interpreting and translating are one of the world's oldest professions, and it is a most essential profession. Anyone who has found themselves in difficulty in a country whose language they do not speak knows just how scary and confronting that is and how powerless that can make you feel. I feel it is particularly fitting that we are talking about this now, this being the week that we celebrate Refugee Week. This is an important chance to recognise also the amazing contribution that refugees make to this country.

A vital part in helping refugees and indeed all migrants feel welcome in this country is the help that they receive in navigating new systems, new rules and new services. Interpreters and translators play an important part in this. What is more, access to an interpreter to facilitate communication can literally make the difference between life and death. Just think about a patient in hospital who needs to understand essential instructions from a doctor or provide consent to treatment and about the devastating implications it can have if the instructions are misunderstood. I met a woman a few years back. She has passed away now. She was then in her early 90s. She came out to Australia from Greece at the age of 18 in the early 1900s. She had one daughter, and I remember saying to her in a conversation: 'Why one daughter? You didn't have a second child.' She said: 'Well, I had great difficulty giving birth with the first child. I had an operation and lots and lots of things, and I kept on trying. We kept on trying for a second child for many, many years, and it wasn't until I was in my late 30s, when I went to a doctor, that I was told that I'd had a hysterectomy in that operation back when I had my first child.' She had no idea because there were no interpreters. Her English language was non-existent. That is a really sad case.

These things used to happen regularly here in Australia, and we are very fortunate that we have a policy that ensures that anyone accessing government and legal services in this country whose first language is not English is guaranteed an interpreter free of charge. This is an excellent policy that should be supported. As I said, it has not always been the case—I have just described that very sad story—and it was not the case until the early seventies. Australia's policy of assimilation meant that, if you decided to come here, it was up to you to become an Australian and learn English, and translators were something that did not exist. That failed to take into account factors such as people having to work to make a living and having no time to learn English as well. My parents were in that situation. Their English was communication English and still is today.

Honourable Member:

An honourable member interjecting—

Steve Georganas (Hindmarsh, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Yes, and they became citizens back in the fifties, a long time ago.

We can thank the Whitlam government and, in general, the adoption of multiculturalism—with Fraser, of course, as well—for the growth of the interpreting and translating industry. A pivotal moment in the profession was the establishment of the National Accreditation Authority for Translators and Interpreters in 1977 and the introduction of accreditation and testing for different levels of interpreters and translators. This was an important step in regulating the service and the industry.

Today there are thousands of interpreters and translators working around the country. I would like to take a moment just to thank them for providing these essential services. I thank them for their professionalism, their commitment and their ethics. Having elderly parents myself whose first language is Greek, I have been exposed to a number of interpreters over the years. Recently my mother has been ill, and even though her English skills are quite good and she can communicate, when it comes to doctors and specialists it is good to err on the side of being absolutely sure that she understands everything. So we arranged an interpreter for her, and I went along as well. I would like to thank Dennis Dellis, who was absolutely fantastic, for his help and the reassurance he provided my mother during that very difficult time. He was wonderful. Every interpreter I have dealt with has been just like him—wonderful people.

Interpreters and translators are needed today more than ever. According to the 2011 census, there are more than three million people in Australia who speak a language other than English. But, despite much advancement in the profession, we have an obligation as MPs to ensure that there is adequate training available for interpreters and translators, appropriate regulation and fair and just remuneration. Interpreters and translators often work in stressful and demanding conditions, often when their clients are facing very, very difficult moments. Their work and their skills deserve our respect and our recognition.

Andrew Hastie (Canning, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Is there a seconder for the motion?

Anne Aly (Cowan, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I second the motion.

Andrew Hastie (Canning, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I call the member for Cowan.

Anne Aly (Cowan, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I might start by first of all congratulating my colleague, the member for Hindmarsh, for bringing forward this motion and recognising the important and vital role played by professional interpreters and translators. I might also acknowledge the work of the NAATI—the National Accreditation Authority for Translators and Interpreters; and, in Western Australia, WAITI—the Western Australian Institute of Translators and Interpreters, particularly Ms Heather Glass, a formidable force in translating and interpreting and in ensuring that the profession is up to scratch and up to standard.

When we talk about professional translating and interpreting services, it is important that we ensure that those services are available in the community languages that people most need. There are 74 courses for translators and interpreters that are approved by NAATI, 67 of which are delivering training in Chinese and Mandarin, and 10 are delivering training in Hindi, Nepali and Bangla. It is not statistically possible to separate translator or interpreter need by language, and that is because the Australian and New Zealand Standard Classification of Occupations, or ANZSCO, does not distinguish between languages. Hence, even though there is no shortage of Chinese and Mandarin translators and interpreters, there is a huge need in other multiple languages, but these statistics do not reflect that.

Qualifications delivered are typically the Diploma of Interpreting and the Advanced Diploma of Translating. However, research in Western Australia has shown that the domestic translating and interpreting industry has a dearth of paraprofessional accredited interpreters and professional accredited translators, although we have a huge demand for professional interpreter accreditation. Clearly, that demand is not being met by the current way the system is set up. Just before Christmas the federal Department of Education and Training announced a list of qualifications that would be included in the new legislation for VET loans. The department gave the industry a token two-week consultation period, and that list proceeded to legislation as drafted.

Under the new legislation, the diplomas of interpreting and translating and the Advanced Diploma of Translating are all eligible for VET loans, but the Advanced Diploma of Interpreting—the one that we need qualifications in, the one that we need professionals and paraprofessionals in—is not. The qualifications that will, therefore, attract VET loans are those applicable to the migration market and not to the domestic market, not to the domestic need—the community languages that are most in need. This is of utmost importance, because it is important that people are given access to accredited and professional translator and interpreting services as they need them.

I want to share with you a story that I heard some time ago about a woman from Afghanistan who gave birth at one of Perth's larger hospitals. After several days the staff there noticed that she was not eating. They eventually brought in an interpreter and they found out that this woman was not eating because she thought she had to pay for the food. She had not eaten anything for several days because she thought she had to pay for the food, and she could not afford it. That was because they did not have an accredited interpreter in her community language available to her upon her entry into the hospital—it took several days for them to get a community language interpreter in that specific language of Dari to talk to her and to realise that that was the reason why she was not eating. That is just an example, along with the example that my colleague, the member for Hindmarsh, gave, of just how important it is to have professional accredited interpreters and translators available to people for health reasons, when they are dealing with the law and when they are dealing with those situations where they need to access services and need to have professional accredited translators and interpreters available.

When I was working for state government I developed the language services policy, which set out a procedure for all government agencies to ensure that they use accredited translators and interpreters because, in some cases, children were being used. Children were being used to interpret confidential medical information for their parents, and that is just not on. Unfortunately, the Western Australian Liberal government stopped using the language services policy but, hopefully, we can bring that back in, because Labor recognises just how important that is.

In closing, I would urge the government to look into the issues I have raised here around the provision of a quality framework for translating and interpreting that is responsive to domestic need, because without that we will continue to hear stories such as those I have just related, and the member for Hindmarsh has related.

Julian Hill (Bruce, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I am delighted to rise to speak on this motion. I represent the electorate in parliament with the highest percentage of first generation migrants born in another country, an electorate where for 56 per cent of people, when they shut the front door at night, their preferred language is not English. Conversely, only 44 per cent of people speak English at home in my electorate. So, day to day, the role of professional interpreters and translators in my community is absolutely critical. I can see the government showing its care for this issue by the number of speakers listed, which I think is zero.

It is an important motion in its own right for some of the reasons touched on, and which I will expand on. It is also particularly timely given English and foreign languages are a topic of debate today given the government's changes to English language requirements for citizenship—these extreme changes to require university standard English to become a citizen. As we have said, it is ridiculous, it is unnecessary, it is snobbery given conversational English has served Australia well for decades and the citizenship test is already in English. As we have also said, it is a stunt, it is political and it is part of the immigration minister's leadership campaign: to pick an impossible test that sounds good and looks tough. But that is a debate for later. It is an irony and a shame though, because millions of Australians would not pass that IELTS 6 test. They would not pass it, including, dare I say, some members of this House. I think the Deputy Prime Minister in question time regularly needs a professional translator and interpreter because we cannot understand what he is saying—and allegedly he is speaking English!

There are circumstances where people need professional interpreters. As has been mentioned, legal situations—and this is not even Australian citizens; this stuff is critical to facilitate economic trade, development, business and commerce. As we talk about finding our way in the Asian century, having professional, experienced international UN level 4 and 5 translators able to negotiate multibillion-dollar contracts is key. So this is not just for community social cohesion; it is actually critical for our economy.

The member for Cowan has outlined the health situation. In the case of older people who may have good English, it is a fact of life when you age that your English language skills, your second and third language skills, tend to deteriorate and so when you need to deal in complex matters, then professional interpreters and translators are particularly critical. And I have also seen far too many situations in my community where children—teenagers, school kids—are being used as the interpreters in adult situations for their families and family members for a range of reasons.

The federal government's response to that, it was one of the issues that came up during the election campaign and in the six to 12 months lead-up, is to attack and cut interpreter services. I will give the example of South East Community Links serving a large chunk of South-East Melbourne across the member for Hotham's electorate, the member for Isaacs's electorate and my electorate in particular. This service provides employment services—particularly, but not solely, focused on new migrants—financial counselling and so on. In one of the cruellest decisions of the Abbott-Turnbull Joyce-Turnbull—whatever you call them—government, they cut emergency relief funding. But not only did they cut emergency relief funding and this basic community support, they also cut access to interpreter services. These relief agencies, working with the most vulnerable people in the community, were then being forced to dip into this relief money to also pay for interpreter services. For decades it has been an understood part of the public service fabric in this country that professional standard interpreter services are not some luxury optional extra in our society; they are a critical service that needs to be provided on a universal basis for important public services.

I contrast this with the Victorian government. I saw a press release in the last few weeks that says they are now innovating in translation in health services. There have been very small but important grants provided for videoconferencing across regional areas for multicultural communities. Of course we also have tourists as visitors, so this is not only about Australian residents; it is about visitors to our country needing health services. There are grants for language services in emergency wards, where it is particularly critical that you get quick and timely information, so, again, video services are going to help. And grants for improved data systems to manage health outcomes for pregnant women.

In closing, I would acknowledge and pay tribute to those in the profession. It is not only great language skills that you need to do this but also cultural skills and cultural understanding to get the nuance and dialects in many cases. It is also a position of great trust because, when you are dealing with people in very vulnerable situations or with economically critical situations for the country or for business trading, you need to be sure that the people providing this service are of the very highest international standard.

Andrew Hastie (Canning, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The time allotted for this debate has expired. The debate is adjourned, and the resumption of the debate will be made an order of the day for the next sitting.