Why aren't we there yet? The road New Zealand already replaced — and the one it should replace next.
The Manawatū Gorge closed without warning. Nine years and $824M later, we had a new road. The Remutaka is showing the same signs. Do we act now — or wait for the hill to make the decision for us?
Grant McLachlan
14 hours ago3 min read
Drowning in its own harbour: How Auckland's Waitemata Harbour crossings epitomise everything wrong with Auckland politics
In the history of large Western democracies, few cities of comparable size have managed to so comprehensively, repeatedly, and expensively fail themselves on a single piece of infrastructure as Auckland has with the crossing of its own harbour. The Waitemata Harbour is not a vast or treacherous body of water — it is barely a kilometre wide at the bridge point. Sydney crosses a harbour roughly five times wider. Yet Auckland has spent more than 160 years proposing, debating, di
Grant McLachlan
2 days ago19 min read
Power Failure: What is wrong with the New Zealand electricity industry
Three decades after the most radical electricity market reforms in the developed world, New Zealanders are paying record prices for power generated by assets their grandparents built. Here is a comprehensive investigation into what went wrong — and what a genuine solution looks like.
Grant McLachlan
3 days ago13 min read
Manufacturing the poor: How neoliberalism built the welfare state it loves to hate
How neoliberal governments manufactured the social crises they campaign against — and why beneficiary bashing is the oldest con in New Zealand politics.
Grant McLachlan
5 days ago18 min read
Thomas Bracken: Not Understood
Thomas Bracken wrote NZ's national anthem and coined 'God's Own Country.' He died in poverty, buried in a pauper's grave. His satire was so perfect that 126 years later, we still don't realize we're singing a protest song. The ultimate 'Not Understood.'
Grant McLachlan
Feb 1611 min read
