I have been following this story for some time awaiting the outcome of the Trial. Against this is the current situation occurring in Farmer Cres at present and it seems to me the presence of a mentality of those that live there, or by circumstances made to live there.

A man who battered his partner to death then stuffed her body into a wardrobe has been found guilty of murder.

The woman’s family now want an apology from her killer.

Malcolm Ngeru, 44, unemployed of Taita, had pleaded not guilty to murdering Mihi Tuhoro on July 20 last year. He admitted killing her but said he did not have the intent to do so because he was so drunk, and was instead guilty of manslaughter.

A jury in the High Court at Wellington yesterday took more than 10 hours to find him guilty of murder. He has been convicted and remanded in custody to December 11 for sentence.

Ms Tuhoro’s brother, Manuel Tuhoro, who sat through every day of the 2 1/2 week trial, was overwhelmed with emotion.

“A sorry or something would be nice,” he said outside court. “Not even his family is present.”

The jury was told Ngeru and Ms Tuhoro were alcoholics who lived in Lower Hutt’s Farmer Cres in a Housing New Zealand flat.

via Stuff

From my perspective it appears that those that live there are alienated from other social norms, expectations and society in general. I am no bleeding heart liberal in fact I side with quite a bit of what the Sensible Sentencing Trust advocates.

Has the area become such a gang enclave, that without adhering to the gang’s mentality there is no alternative, or is it because they respect that value system more, because it provides individual respect,  income and the chance to get ahead.

In the case of all these indivduals both male and female is their self-esteem so low that they see no alternative to the life they lead? or conversely do our social agencies just place them back into the areas that are familiar to them, I think not in this case alternatives were provided, not accepted, as is the case with the current situation of the residents fight against Housing NZ.

I’m not here to present answers, there are many vastly more qualified than me, but when was the last time you looked at the area around Farmer Cres, Pomare?

To be polite I would call it low socio-economic area, in another term perhaps a ghetto of disenfranchised individuals. I hate the housing that was presented as a solution to low-cost accommodation in the 60s when the Hutt needed low skilled labour. I always felt that the solution with State Housing whether state or local should be spread around amongst other areas rather than high-rise towers and feel it was a British import that was not needed given the ample supply of land at the time. Brixton London, and its problems come to mind.

Where am I going with all this, I don’t know the answers (neither does any of the government agencies) but I am going to walk around Farmer Cres this weekend and see how I feel, rather than drive past without thinking about it.