A quagmire on a swampy battlefield: What Wolfbrook actually walked into at Pegasus
Two of New Zealand's premier residential golf courses collapsed twenty minutes apart in 2026. One is being cannibalised by a developer who has just donated to National. The other is in liquidation. The model is broken. The fix starts at Pegasus.
Grant McLachlan
May 2124 min read
A very natural progression
A real estate empire’s fundraiser, its donations, its former chief executive and a friendly columnist all point the same way. The pattern is the story.
Grant McLachlan - Column
May 1623 min read
Days, not decades: Auckland already has the data to settle its bridge argument
The Mayor and the Transport Minister are arguing about whether to put a bridge or a tunnel parallel to the existing harbour crossing. I crunched the data that they ignored and modelled the solution.
Grant McLachlan
May 137 min read
Going out — but staying home
New Zealanders eat out as often as Melbournians and drink as much. So why are the cinemas, stadiums, concerts and racecourses emptying out? The answer is not just money. It is time, fuel, congestion and exhaustion.
Grant McLachlan
Apr 2721 min read
The naming rights fire sale
New Zealand taxpayers and ratepayers have wasted more than a billion dollars building three stadiums — and handed the corporate branding rights away for what amounts to small change. There were better options - demonstrated in Melbourne and Los Angeles - but nobody in this country took notice.
Grant McLachlan
Apr 2537 min read
Has the ‘Butter Chicken Tsunami’ already arrived?
The data New Zealanders deserve to examine — without being shut down for asking.
Grant McLachlan
Apr 226 min read
The overhang trap: How National could lose power to its own coalition partners
We could have an 'overhang' Parliament of 130 MPs if National retains more electorates than its party vote would allow.
Grant McLachlan
Apr 2029 min read
Crooked Cop Culture: How New Zealand Police condoned a culture of wrongful convictions
A generation of Supreme Court reversals has exposed a disturbing pattern at the heart of New Zealand policing — evidence fabricated, witnesses coerced, disclosures withheld, and vulnerable suspects railroaded into cells they had no business occupying.
Grant McLachlan
Apr 628 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
Rivers of wasted power: How New Zealand's three great hydro systems underperform their physical potential — and who benefits from the gap
If the Waikato/Tongariro, Clutha, and Waitaki hydro schemes operated to its potential, it would eliminate the need for coal and gas generation - and lower electricity prices substantially.
Grant McLachlan
Mar 2441 min read
The Cook Strait Tunnel: Has Elon Musk made it feasible?
The question shouldn't be “How much will it cost?”
The question should be “At what cost does this become feasible?”
Grant McLachlan
Feb 29 min read
The unintended consequences of the gang patch ban
New Zealand's gang patch ban has removed visible insignia from public view—but gang membership has grown by over 700. Has the legislation made communities safer, or has it simply made an existing threat harder to identify and more attractive to join?
Grant McLachlan
Jan 3128 min read
Would they go to jail? Comparing New Zealand's corruption gap with Australia's integrity framework
New Zealand lacks the robust anti-corruption infrastructure that exists across every Australian state and at the federal level.
Grant McLachlan - Column
Dec 7, 202529 min read
The serious crimes that Police won’t prosecute.
If the punishment is 14 years in prison, you’d think that Police would take the crime seriously, wouldn’t you?
Grant McLachlan
Feb 6, 202523 min read
Warkworth's celebrity crooked cop culture
When I filmed the mother of a cop break my nose, several cops told me to not share the footage with Warkworth Police.
Grant McLachlan
Sep 25, 202418 min read
R v McLachlan: What was Constable Fairbrass thinking?
You'd expect that a police constable with ambitions of becoming a detective would be careful with their investigations, wouldn't you?
Grant McLachlan
Aug 13, 202429 min read
R v McLachlan: Who turned the Keasts?
There is a considerable difference between what Corinne and John Keast did, compared to what they said. Why?
Grant McLachlan
Aug 13, 202411 min read
R v McLachlan: Paul Shanahan's list of lies
Paul Shanahan tried to be more than the star witness. Here are some of the lies that he said while under oath in court.
Grant McLachlan
Jul 29, 202412 min read
R v McLachlan: The corrupt dog ranger
According to Warkworth Police, they didn't discuss my case with the council. This evidence proves someone was lying.
Grant McLachlan
Jul 29, 20243 min read
