Kia ora,

My name is Felix Shaw and I am a 16 year old student from Auckland, New Zealand. I was born with a rare condition called cat's eye syndrome. As a result I was born deaf. I recently wrote a speech about why I think people born deaf shouldn’t have to pay for hearing aid batteries. My teacher was blown away and said I should make others more aware of this. I also had someone from deaf education say that I should take further action with this. So I emailed Parliament and they said if you get enough signatures you could seriously be starting something here. Last year I became aware of the costs that I along with other born deaf in New Zealand will have to pay when we turn 18. People born deaf in New Zealand will have to start paying around $390 a year just so we can hear. Hearing is pretty much like a human right but for some people we are forced to pay simply just because we were born deaf. It isn’t our fault so why should we have to suffer? So please help people born deaf get free hearing just like everyone else by signing this petition and sharing it with others.  Thank you so much! I will put my speech down below.

$7.50 a week! Just so I can hear. That is outrageous! I was born with a rare condition called Cat's Eye syndrome. As a result of this I was born deaf and I now hear with hearing aids 24/7. But of course hearing aids tragically can’t be powered on their own, they need batteries. Batteries cost money and I think it is unfair that people born deaf will have to start paying their own hard earned money for something out of their control when they turn 18. My three points today will be why I think people born deaf shouldn’t have to pay for hearing aid batteries, the financial effects this has on deaf people, and why I think the government should start paying instead. 

I guarantee the majority of people watching this speech right now can hear normally but each year in New Zealand between 135 to 170 children are born deaf. This means that they need to be fitted with hearing aids. The main reason I think people born deaf shouldn’t have to pay for hearing aid batteries is simply this. I believe  that everyone should have the right to good quality hearing if they wish to, but in New Zealand, adults that were born deaf don’t. I am frightened that if I don’t get a high paying job I won’t be able to make ends meet simply because of me along with my peers having to pay high amounts of money just so I can hear. This is on top of paying a mortgage, paying the basic bills and for food, which leads me to my next point…

So what are the financial impacts on someone being born deaf? Well in NZ our government pays for all hearing aid batteries for people who are born deaf up until 18, but then it just stops. I am currently 15 going on to 16 very soon. In 2 years I am going to have to start paying for my own hearing aid batteries. Just like every other 18 year old born deaf. Every person born deaf will have Hearing Aids fitted for their type of hearing loss meaning they will have different batteries with different costs. My two hearing aids go through one and half packs of batteries a week. As I said earlier, for me to power my two hearing aids it will cost me $7.50 a week. Which for me is around $390 dollars a year.  I, along with many others, would  much rather spend it on a house, food, petrol, a car, or even a HOLIDAY. But nope, just because we were born deaf were forced to spend that $390 dollars a year on just hearing aid batteries, there's still the cost of hearing insurance and appointments which costs a fortune!

So, finally why do I think our Government should pay for hearing aid batteries for people born deaf. Well for a start it wasn’t our fault that we were born deaf so why should we have to suffer the financial struggle from it? If the government started paying it would ease financial pressure on deaf people and make their lives a bit easier. This would mean that deaf people can spend their money on the more important things and equally have the right to hear. There is only a small population of people born deaf in NZ but that doesn’t mean the government should forget about us. 

So to my fellow deaf peers lets take pride in who we are. Let’s start the fight to get equal hearing. To the public you can help by signing a petition or making people more aware of this issue and finally to the government of New Zealand. The least you can do is put yourself in our shoes and just start to think about the impacts this has on us. I am proud to be me, I am proud to be deaf but I am not proud of me and my peers being discriminated against.