Author(s): Deborah Wylie

NZ History/Society

This is the story of a New Zealander living in Australia, who died in 2004, and whose body was left in the Glebe Morgue in Sydney for eight months unclaimed before being buried in a mass grave for five years. His next of kin was not informed of his death. Neither were New Zealand representatives in Australia. The family suffered five years of torment while they lobbied to bring Paul Tait home. With the Australian Government ducking responsibility, Paul's sister Deborah Wylie went looking for someone in the New Zealand Government who'd be outraged by the disposal of a deceased New Zealander abroad in contravention of international law. But she found no one brave enough to take on the Australians except for one opposition member of parliament. Wylie wrote Duty of Care to tell the story of what her family endured, and to support her demand for an apology from the Australian Government and an acknowledgement from the New Zealand Government of the part they played in the debacle.