Merepeka Raukawa-Tait: Justice finally catches up on murderer

We can all get frustrated at times. People annoy us. We get treated unfairly at work, picked on or so we believe. Our partner is being unreasonable, yet again, and the children show little respect for our views. Life gets us down at times and can seem unfair.

But never ever do we contemplate harming someone and taking our frustrations and anger out on them. We may experience a "flashpoint" but even that wouldn't persuade us to hurt anyone. Civilised people don't act on foul impulses. Unless you're someone like Menzies Hallett. And it took 34 years to bring him to justice.

This week, he was found guilty of the cold-blooded killing of Rodney Tahu in Turangi in 1979. He deserves to spend the rest of his life in jail. He was content to shoot Mr Tahu and get on with his life as if nothing happened. He killed a "black bastard"; his description of Mr Tahu when confessing the crime to his estranged wife shortly after the killing. It does make me wonder if Mr Tahu had been a "white bastard" would he still have been shot.

Was the flashpoint that Hallett referred to the thought of losing contact with his children through his marriage break-up, Mr Tahu refusing to reopen the service station that he had just closed for the night or because Mr Tahu happened to be Maori? Remember this was 1979 and how Hallett referred to Mr Tahu was often heard back then. Try that today and see how far you get.

Mr Tahu had a wife and family. He was loved by them, his extended family and respected by people in the Turangi community. He should have enjoyed his life with them these past 34 years. And Hallett should have got what he deserved years ago.

How does a sane person go about turning into a murderer? What goes through his mind? Did he even give his victim a second thought? Hallett could have gone some way to redeeming himself if he had owned up and confessed to the killing. Rarely do you get a random killing where a person will pull a gun and execute a complete stranger. Shoot three times. In the majority of homicides, the victim is known to the killer. After shooting Mr Tahu, Hallett got into his car and drove away. Mr Tahu didn't rate. To Hallett, he was a non-person.

Thankfully most of us exercise self-control and self-discipline. It's hard at times and we're not immune to getting upset, frustrated and having our flashpoints too. But common sense always prevails. There is never any need to get so angry and upset that we become irrational. Tomorrow is another day and maybe the situation won't look so challenging and tough then. We have to be able to let it go. Some people can and do. Others just can't.

Letting go is cathartic. Years ago, I was often on the receiving end of nasty comments written and said about me. These referred mostly to my views and thoughts on social issues affecting New Zealand, Maori in particular. That was my area of work at the time. The comments invariably came from those who I had identified as lacking in visionary leadership and courage. They refused to make the necessary changes to improve poor government policy and to better target services. Feelings were hurt. I got annoyed and angry. I could have asked for a retraction, the opportunity to further explain my reasoning, but I never did. People will think what they want to and I didn't have the time or the inclination to pursue the matter. I had to let it go. Carrying stuff around with you is draining and energy-sapping. Let someone else carry it if they want to. I wouldn't then and don't now. I have other things to get on with.

But I am pleased our New Zealand Police don't share this view. They didn't let the killing of Rodney Tahu go. They said one day they would get his killer, already known to them in 1979. When the law finally changed in 2006, allowing spousal evidence to be admissible, they were able to reopen the case and keep their promise to Mr Tahu's family. Letting it go was not an option for the police. Letting Menzies Hallett go, at any stage in the future, should never be an option either.