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Welcome to Klaut.

Klaut is the publishing, production, and communications company of Grant McLachlan – a New Zealand-based writer. Grant is a prolific investigative writer of fiction and non-fiction for newspapers, books, and screen.

A former hearings commissioner, barrister, and solicitor*, Grant has worked in the public and private sectors, ranging from a Parliamentary researcher and campaign director to a planner and infrastructure specialist. His columns in New Zealand newspapers and his pro-bono work has assisted many people involved in disputes with central and local government authorities.

On this site you will find links to his current and past work. There are several projects in development so please watch this space.

Sparrow

A Chronicle of Defiance

An epic account of The Sparrows

- Battle of Britain gunners who defended Timor as part of Sparrow Force in 1942.

It is the story of Charlie McLachlan's war: a triumph of stubborn Scottish defiance and laconic Aussie genius over the relentless violence of man and nature. Charlie survives and bears witness to some of the landmark days of World War II.

Media Coverage

The Bullshit Economy

New Zealand has constructed an elaborate economy out of its own inefficiencies.

Feature

Grant McLachlan

Apr 1724 min read

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.

Column

Grant McLachlan

Apr 1617 min read

Seven steps to a productive economy

New Zealand's addiction to property speculation is strangling the productive economy. Seven practical reforms — from taxing land and capital gains to protecting elite soils and standardising public infrastructure — could redirect investment where it is actually needed.

Column

Grant McLachlan

Apr 17 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.

Column

Grant McLachlan

Mar 314 min read

The $16 billion battery that runs on electricity it doesn’t have

There is a particular kind of infrastructure madness that only becomes visible once you draw a map.

Grant McLachlan

Mar 306 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.

Research

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.

Research

Grant McLachlan

Mar 2441 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?

Column

Grant McLachlan

Mar 2310 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.

Feature

Grant McLachlan

Feb 2813 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.

Feature

Grant McLachlan

Feb 2718 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?”

Feature

Grant McLachlan

Feb 29 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.

PERSONA NON GRATA

Grant McLachlan - Column

Dec 9, 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.

Column

Grant McLachlan

Nov 30, 202510 min read