The economist who can’t see what he doesn’t want to fix
Oliver Hartwich says breaking up the gentailers won’t cut your power bill. He’s right — but for the wrong reasons. The real solution is one his funders would never allow him to propose.
Grant McLachlan
2 days ago17 min read
Fame for sale: Why celebrity property hype should come with a warning label
New Zealand's property media is drowning in celebrity clickbait and engineered prestige — pumping prices with star power while buyers absorb the risk when the glamour fades.
Grant McLachlan
Apr 519 min read
Auckland’s missing motorway has been hiding in plain sight for seventy years
The Eastern Motorway — State Highway 17 — has a vacant number, protected land, and a proven funding model. All it lacks is a government with the wit to act.
Grant McLachlan
Mar 314 min read
Two bills that could end New Zealand’s dirty politics era — if politicians have the courage to pass them
I have documented corruption and abuse of electoral systems. These two bills provide the tools to fix it.
Grant McLachlan
Mar 299 min read
Toothless by design: how New Zealand’s competition law fails consumers — and why it must change
Since I was a law student, I have analysed the weaknesses in New Zealand's competition laws. Today, I dusted off a 30-year old law assignment and updated a bill to fix it.
Grant McLachlan
Mar 2510 min read
Price gouging at the pump: the regulator's empty tank
In Australia, the government regulator is investigating price gouging by petrol companies. Here, the Commerce Commission told us to download the Gaspy app. Why?
Grant McLachlan
Mar 2310 min read
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
Mar 33 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
When noise drowns out democracy: The predictable playbook of environmental campaigns
In environmental battles, the winner isn't determined by facts—it's determined by who controls the noise. Create enough controversy, enough division, enough exhaustion, and people simply tune out. By the time Sustainable Tarras' legitimate questions get answers, no one's listening anymore. It's a strategy I've seen deployed countless times. And it always works.
Grant McLachlan
Feb 136 min read
The man who made everyone feel larger than life
I had chronicled Sir Tim for twenty-five years, and in that time, he never once disappointed me with his generosity.
Grant McLachlan
Jan 203 min read
Democracy demands more than blind obedience
Road safety campaigner Geoff Upson raised valid concerns, yet the comment section revealed a disturbing civic illiteracy about how democracy actually works.
Grant McLachlan
Dec 15, 20253 min read
New Zealand's Property-Industrial Complex: A democratic warning
In his 1961 farewell address, President Eisenhower warned America about the military-industrial complex. In 2024, New Zealand faces its own existential threat: the property-industrial complex has consumed our democracy whole.
Grant McLachlan - Column
Dec 9, 20254 min read
When good intentions paved the road to gridlock: New Zealand’s cycleway saga
I used to cycle across town to school without a second thought about safety. The roads were shared space, drivers watched out for cyclists, and common sense prevailed. That was before cycling became an industry.
Grant McLachlan
Dec 3, 20254 min read
The Immigration Tap: How National turned a housing crisis into a growth strategy
For nearly a decade, National governments have run the same cynical playbook: when the economy falters, turn on the immigration tap. It’s economic fraud masquerading as policy.
Grant McLachlan
Nov 30, 202510 min read
New Zealand’s corruption illusion: A Police scandal exposes the myth
This week's damning IPCA report on the McSkimming scandal exposes New Zealand's corruption paradox: ranked third globally for clean governance, yet complaints go un-investigated by compromised oversight bodies. Without a truly independent anti-corruption commission with powers like Australia's ICAC, New Zealand's squeaky-clean reputation remains an illusion sustained by institutional complicity, political cronies embedded in civil service, and media silence born from revolvin
Grant McLachlan
Nov 15, 20254 min read
The cynical motives behind Maori representation
The establishment of Maori seats in New Zealand’s Parliament in 1867 tells a story of political calculation rather than progressive idealism.
Grant McLachlan
Aug 18, 20253 min read
'Ruling the Roost': How a council staffer created her own private fiefdom.
Imagine a job where you could live the life of a lord where you rule by decree and can act with impunity. Welcome to the life of Megan Young.
Grant McLachlan - Column
May 31, 202521 min read
Freedom fighters or freedom frauds? The Act Party’s local government hypocrisy
Act want to run candidates at this year's local body elections. But local body politicians who were previously Act candidates at the general election are retiring. Their track records speak for themselves.
Grant McLachlan - Column
Apr 26, 20259 min read
Investigative journalism master class eviscerating corrupt council
In an era when media organisations frantically downsize, replacing substance with clickbait and advertorial content, a remarkable counter-narrative is unfolding in Queenstown.
Grant McLachlan
Apr 16, 20256 min read
ALEC's global reach: How US corporate interests drive New Zealand's punitive justice policies
New Zealand's Act Party, Sensible Sentencing Trust, and New Zealand Taxpayers' Union simply echo US think tanks. Why?
Grant McLachlan - Column
Apr 12, 202512 min read
