Wake-up call for space for teenagers

The tragic death of Enere McLaren-Taana was a shocking and sad consequence of the social climate which had been developing at the Dunedin bus hub for some time.

Throughout my time at high school and even extending into university, I have witnessed the unique social context develop right under the watch of the city. People began calling it the land of the "bus-hub bundy" a downright horrible name for a group of kids that are just seeking social affirmation.

Because that’s what we need to remember — these are kids that we’re talking about. These kids deserve our empathy and it’s not necessarily their fault that tensions grew into this terrible freak incident. It’s up to us to ask how the bus hub became so dangerous and how we can fix it.

Due to the centralised nature of the bus hub and the reality that pretty much every schoolkid at some point needs to catch the bus, a huge amount of schoolkids find themselves at the bus hub from 3-4pm on weekdays. Of course, not everyone who goes to the bus hub on a regular basis contributes to this social context. But as time goes by, kids need a space to form community, they find themselves meeting with others in this unique social setting, with very little to do, and very little control over their actions.

While the bus hub has turned into a trouble area for the wider Dunedin community, it served a social function for a group of kids who had no other platform for forming community.

The question now is, how do we channel this inherent desire for community into positive outlets and ensure something like Enere’s death never happens again? The problem lies in the lack of spaces available for schoolkids to just exist. Town really only fulfils this promise if you have money to spend, and Dunedin City Library may be seen as too far from the hubbub.

Admittedly, schoolkids do get some use out of the "teen-space" in the library, but not nearly to the extent that the bus hub has gained popularity. The library also presents challenges as it comes with the caveat that schoolkids are sharing the facilities with the wider community and must still fulfil the responsibilities that this requires. Simply put, school-aged kids are bereft of spaces to form friendships, build community, and just exist. These kids want independence and a life for themselves outside parents’ control — they need a space in which they can do this, otherwise the bus hub becomes the incubator for their teenage existence.

My proposal is this. Could the city council not lease the eternally vacant Weir’s Furniture building and create a communal space for teenagers to use? Positioned directly across the road from the bus hub, the building would attract teenagers and place them in a controlled environment while ensuring multiple pro-social benefits.

You could have phone chargers, games, maybe some band equipment, just to liven the place up a little. It wouldn’t need to be much, but it could certainly change the lives of many and create a safer bus-hub environment for the wider Dunedin community.

The fact that something similar was done in 2022 gives me hope that it can be recreated on a more permanent basis. During Youth Week in 2022, the Dunedin Community Gallery was transformed into a pop-up youth space filled with gigs, creative workshops, and just generally good vibes. How good! Give something like this a bit more time and you can enact real change in the social fabric.

My only suggestion would be to limit outside intervention. For broad appeal, you need to let things like this be driven by the teens themselves. By doing this, you provide teens with the power to control their own lives. Keep it simple and I have no doubt it would prove to be a winning formula.

For years the bus hub has been a site of collective neglect. We have shied away from our responsibility to give our youth support and have now seen the consequences.

Enere’s death should never have happened, and now is the time to ensure it does not happen again. Carving out a positive space for schoolkids to form community in is quintessential for the wider health of the city.

Youth deserves our attention and desperately needs it if things are to really get better.

• Hugh Askerud is a 20-year-old local and student at the University of Otago, majoring in politics and religious studies.