politics | klaut

Publishing • Production • Communications

Showreel

Books

Unleashed

Sex, rackets & vigilantes in

New Zealand's most corrupted community.

He wrote about vigilantes during the Covid lockdowns.

What could possibly go wrong?

How a clique used their council and police connections to try to silence an investigative writer through a series of stitch ups. This Kafkaesque farce delves into a community often at the centre of many New Zealand corruption scandals.

Matakana War Memorial heritage application

Fix Hill Street Now: TVNZ Gutsful episode

Fix Hill Street Now: Visit the campaign website

Matakana War Memorial heritage application

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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

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

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.'

Column

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.

Column

Grant McLachlan

Feb 136 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.

Column

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.

PERSONA NON GRATA

Grant McLachlan - Column

Dec 9, 20254 min read

The clandestine campaign to dismantle Jacindamania

The falls from grace of Helen Clark and Jacinda Ardern were not the result of democratic whim or policy failure, but rather the outcome of sophisticated, coordinated campaigns orchestrated by a network of right-wing political operatives who maintained the illusion of independent action while working in concert.

Feature

Grant McLachlan

Dec 6, 202531 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

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

Column

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.

Column

Grant McLachlan

Aug 18, 20253 min read

Politics101: The art of the false allegation

Political scandals involving allegations that are later unsubstantiated or dismissed represent a complex intersection of media, law enforcement, and democratic accountability.

Feature

Grant McLachlan

Aug 4, 202512 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.

Column

Grant McLachlan - Column

Apr 26, 20259 min read