Last week, the Consumer Guarantees (Right to Repair) Amendment Bill, a member's bill created by Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson, was drawn from the ballot and introduced to the House. The purpose of this Bill is to extend the lifetime of goods, in order to keep resources in circulation and out of landfills.
If enacted, the Bill would expand consumer guarantees regarding information, repairs and spare parts. In effect, this would give consumers a "right to repair" by requiring manufacturers to provide the information, spare parts and tools necessary to diagnose, maintain, and/or repair goods that have been supplied by the manufacturer. At least in theory, consumers would be empowered to request that suppliers repair goods rather than replacing them.
In recent years, the right to repair movement has gained momentum overseas, with the European Union, United Kingdom, United States and France (among others) implementing regulations of a similar nature. In New Zealand, the previous Labour Government had recently signalled its interest in right to repair legislation, which it planned to consider as part of its review of waste management legislation.
The Bill will now proceed through the House, and we will continue to provide updates.
If you would like to talk to one of our team around these or any other reforms, please get in touch with one of our experts.
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