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Human Rights Commission praises Corporation
- Congratulations to Housing New Zealand for providing website information in the Samoan language.
The Corporation has been congratulated by the Human Rights Commission for providing information on our website in Samoan.
The award follows a web survey by the Commission of information available from central and local government agencies in the Samoan language, as a prelude to Samoan Language Week from 24-31 May.
The commission said that: "We found that your organisation is one of only a very small number of government departments, crown agencies and councils that have taken the trouble to provide information in the Samoan language, and we wish to acknowledge your recognition of the value of communicating with the Samoan community in this manner. It shows respect as well as public responsibility in making your services accessible to all New Zealanders."
The Commission's survey found that overall:
- Central and local government agencies' websites are very monocultural, with little or no use of languages other than English
- Some very major government service agencies and councils in areas with a high proportion of Samoan residents have no information in Samoan at all, despite their considerable Samoan client base
- Where Samoan language resources are provided, they are often not signposted on the organisation's home page and are therefore difficult to locate
- Although many public sector organisations subscribe to the Language Line service (which includes Samoan), this is rarely advertised on their website
