Is New Zealand really the most beautiful country in the world?
We sell the world a postcard and then punish anyone who turns it over. The published record — and our own talent — tells a harder story.
Grant McLachlan - Column
5 days ago4 min read
Should Trump pardon Kim Dotcom?
A president who built his second term on the word “lawfare” has freed a parade of crypto convicts. The man who fits his own logic most cleanly is sitting in New Zealand, waiting to be put on a plane.
Grant McLachlan
6 days ago7 min read
Why are New Zealanders turning on their politicians?
Two attacks in a year are a symptom. The disease is a political class that no longer feels within reach.
Grant McLachlan
Jun 44 min read
Shield or weapon? Why the new stalking law arrived already broken
Today, 26 May 2026, a new stalking offence comes into force. The bar has been lowered, the police given new powers to dispose of complaints without a court, and the records kept selectively. What could possibly go wrong?
Grant McLachlan
May 269 min read
Medals, alleged war crimes, and the long road to court
Australia's most decorated living soldier was arrested last week. The alleged murders began a year before he was awarded the Victoria Cross. If the law had acted then, the medal would never have been awarded. That is not an argument for acquittal. It is an argument for why this trial matters.
Grant McLachlan
Apr 1329 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
In Cold Blood: The calculating mind of Clayton Weatherston
I sat in the same finance lectures as Clayton Weatherston. I watched him absorb a lesson on the economics of murder—how killers weigh costs against benefits, how provocation could reduce a sentence, how the average murderer served fifteen years. When he stabbed Sophie Elliott 216 times, was he running the numbers? Eighteen years later, he faces the Parole Board. Everyone miscalculated—Clayton, Sophie, and the politicians who abolished provocation thinking it would save lives.
Grant McLachlan
Jan 2922 min read
