Who Cares 2003 - 2005
Documenting the often-invisible work of aged care workers for the NZ Nurses Organisation. These images are from a photo essay published in Kai Tiaki Nursing New Zealand magazine, May 2006. The response to the essay from the aged care workers was ecstatic, "over the moon" that their work was finally being recognised. Many were being paid the minimum wage of $10.50 an hour for this rewarding but often arduous and physically demanding work. All of the residents and carers featured gave consent for the taking and publication of these photographs. Unfortunately, two sisters (and their lawyers) accused me in public of photographing their father who I had never seen or met let alone photographed. After two years the sisters accepted that it was not their father. It turned out to be a case of mistaken identity. The Privacy Commissioner investigated and concluded: “I am satisfied that all subjects were clearly informed that personal information was being collected, that they authorised the collection, that they knew it was being collected for publication and that they were consulted before publication.” The photographs of the man who was the subject of the mistaken identity are not reproduced here out of deference to his family who reluctantly and regrettably became involved to identify their father.