❓ Hon Giz Watson questions the Attorney General's statement regarding Aboriginal interpreters and seeks data on interpreter service provision for Aboriginal people in WA, revealing a lack of centralized record-keeping.
AnsweredQoN 6176Legislative Council
QuestionView source ↗
I refer to the statement by the Attorney General on 26 September 2012 during debate on the
Sentencing Amendment Bill 2012
that 'if you cannot get an interpreter to understand what is going on, you cannot be expected to plead [guilty or not guilty] until you do', and I ask —
(1) How many Western Australian Aboriginal people ordinarily speak a language other than standard Australian English at home?
(2) In the financial year 2011-2012, how many Aboriginal people were provided with an interpreter?
(3) Regarding the answer to (2), will the Minister please provide a breakdown showing —
(a) the nature of the matter for which the interpreter was provided (e.g. in court, police interview, appointment with legal representative, medical appointment);
(b) the location (e.g. town/city name) at which the interpreter was provided; and
(c) the language for which the interpreter was provided?
(4) How closely does the provision of interpreter services indicated in the answers to (2) and (3) match the level of need for Aboriginal language interpreter services in Western Australia (please provide full details including research/evidence relied upon)?
Sentencing Amendment Bill 2012
that 'if you cannot get an interpreter to understand what is going on, you cannot be expected to plead [guilty or not guilty] until you do', and I ask —
(1) How many Western Australian Aboriginal people ordinarily speak a language other than standard Australian English at home?
(2) In the financial year 2011-2012, how many Aboriginal people were provided with an interpreter?
(3) Regarding the answer to (2), will the Minister please provide a breakdown showing —
(a) the nature of the matter for which the interpreter was provided (e.g. in court, police interview, appointment with legal representative, medical appointment);
(b) the location (e.g. town/city name) at which the interpreter was provided; and
(c) the language for which the interpreter was provided?
(4) How closely does the provision of interpreter services indicated in the answers to (2) and (3) match the level of need for Aboriginal language interpreter services in Western Australia (please provide full details including research/evidence relied upon)?
AnswerView source ↗
Answered
13 November 2012
Responded by
Minister for Indigenous Affairs
Response time
28 days
(1) The 2011 Census identifies 9,427 Aboriginal people as speaking languages other than Australian English at home. This represents 14.6 per cent of the State's Aboriginal population.
(2) The procurement of interpreter services by government takes place directly between service provider agencies and accredited interpreters or interpreting service organisations such as the Kimberley Interpreting Service or Wangka Waljta Aboriginal Interpreting Service (tri border area). No whole of government records are kept on the purpose, volume, location and/or particular Aboriginal languages for which interpretation is provided. The West Australian Government is currently participating with other State and Territory jurisdictions in the development of a National Indigenous Interpreters Framework.
(3-4) See Answer 2.
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(2) The procurement of interpreter services by government takes place directly between service provider agencies and accredited interpreters or interpreting service organisations such as the Kimberley Interpreting Service or Wangka Waljta Aboriginal Interpreting Service (tri border area). No whole of government records are kept on the purpose, volume, location and/or particular Aboriginal languages for which interpretation is provided. The West Australian Government is currently participating with other State and Territory jurisdictions in the development of a National Indigenous Interpreters Framework.
(3-4) See Answer 2.
Notice: This document is created or edited using unregistered or evaluation copy of rtLib valid for testing or development purposes only. To use it for productive or any other purposes please register it. You may purchase the license on
http://www.rtlib.com
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