Tao Wells

$895 a Day Welfare Conference (2011)

Single channel / Colour / Sound

Outside the Amora Hotel in Wellington a group of protestors hold placards protesting government cuts to the unemployment benefit.

A person speaks into a loudspeaker and says “…we are all vulnerable at times of our lives and we are entitled to support”.

Cars arrive, including a news crew vehicle.

The camera pans past placards whose statements include - “Parenting is a full time job”, “The poor can’t pay more”, “Invest in the disabled”.

Another man speaks angrily into a microphone, protestors draw slogans on the pavement, a voiceover by Tao Wells describes being threatened by security.

A member of the news crew asks a protestor why they are protesting, they reply because the welfare conference costs $895 a day to attend and “people can’t participate”.

Other works by Tao Wells

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