Rachel Siewert (WA, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

I move:

That the Senate—

(a) acknowledges:

(i) that being understood is essential in accessing justice,

(ii) the importance of interpreting services in the justice system, and

(iii) the unacceptable rate of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander incarceration;

(b) notes:

(i) the Kimberley Interpreting Service (KIS) has around 100 interpreters who speak over 30 Indigenous languages,

(ii) that in many Western Australia communities English is not the first language, and

(iii) since 2006 KIS has been funded through a state and federal government partnership which ended in June 2014, and the Western Australian Government has said it was not in a position to provide any more funding; and

(c) calls on the Commonwealth Government to work with the Western Australian Government to ensure ongoing funding for essential interpreting services.

Question agreed to.