The Government has effectively killed the Consumer Guarantees (Right to Repair) Amendment Bill despite strong public support, with a parliamentary select committee recommending the legislation not proceed.
Sponsored by Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson, the Member's Bill aimed to give consumers greater rights to repair their electronics, appliances and other goods.
In its report, the Economic Development, Science and Innovation Committee says it has examined the Consumer Guarantees (Right to Repair) Amendment Bill and recommends by majority the Bill not be passed.
It would have required manufacturers to make repair facilities, parts, software, tools, and information available to consumers and allowed consumers to request goods be repaired, rather than replaced.
Furthermore, the Bill would have prevented unauthorised repairers and parts from voiding manufacturers' guarantees.
Labour and the Greens were not impressed by the select committee process.
"We believe this is not consistent with the spirit of good faith engagement that Standing Orders seek to promote," the Opposition members of the Committee said, suggesting there was the perception the process was used to keep the Committee occupied, rather than to improve the Bill, at a cost to the public purse.
In an unusually scathing "differing view" attached to the Committee report, opposition members detailed extensive collaborative work on amendments that appeared designed to build consensus.
The amended Right to Repair Bill was not appended to the report as the majority of the Committee voted against it.
"The Committee spent significant time, and drew on the resources of Parliamentary Counsel and departmental advisors, to explore and draft changes to resolve the concerns of government members that they then ultimately chose not to support," the opposition parties said.
It now means the Right to Repair Bill is highly unlikely to proceed beyond its second reading in Parliament.
Vast majority of submitters support right to repair
The Economic Development, Science and Innovation Committee received 1250 submissions on the Bill, with more than 95% of submitters supporting the Bill and its general aims.
What's more, the legislation enjoyed cross-party support during its first reading in February, with Labour, Te Pāti Māori, and New Zealand First voting alongside the Greens.
Only National and ACT opposed the Bill initially.
Less than 2% of submitters opposed the Bill, with concerns focusing on commercial effects, implementation complexity, and health and safety issues. Some agreed with the Bill's objectives, but disagreed with its approach.
The Bill was referred to the Committee, chaired by ACT MP Parmjeet Parmar, in February 2025.
2 Comments
Disappointed in this, it didn't need to / probably shouldn't have been over prescriptive legislation given almost all mfg is companies outside nz, a statement on principles & ambition might be a start.
Other western & Asian countries are working on this so we'll probably coat tail eventually
once the service unlock codes are on the internet we will all benefit
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