Will the right to fix your things pass into law in New Zealand? Make your voice heard before April 3

A reminder that there is still time to submit on the Consumer Guarantees (Right to Repair) Amendment Bill as it will be considered by the Economic Development, Science and Innovation Committee. The deadline for submissions is April 3 this year.

It will be very interesting to see what the submissions are like, but it's a fairly safe guess many will be in favour of repairability. Which would seem reasonable enough, not that repair attempts are always advisable as the unnamed relative who performed maintenance on a water pump by dismantling and cleaning its permanent seals can attest to.

Brigitte from Repair Network Aotearoa who sent the reminder included some stats in her message from Repair Café Aotearoa New Zealand.

Textile repairs have the highest success rate, with 91%; electrical and electronic items, much less so: small kitchen appliances saw only a 40% repair rate, vacuum cleaners 34%, and toasters, 25%. Repairing electrical and electronic items is difficult due to lack of spare parts, and fixing-unfriendly product design.

A positive impact from the 734 Repair Café events to which 19,2220 items were taken over the past two years is that 32 tonnes of waste has not gone to landfill, and 206 tonnes CO2 emissions have been diverted. Plus people have saved money. 

Marama Davidson of The Green Party is the sponsor of the Member's Bill; the Green Party, Te Pāti Māori and New Zealand First supported it being referred to select committee. NZ First will look at the feedback from submissions before it supports the bill further.

Politically, the Bill seems to be finding some level of support among our parliamentarians. Which is not to say this isn't a nuanced issue, because it is, courtesy of modern mass manufacturing methods.

National's Dan "Blue-Green" Bidois seemed keen on the Bill at its first reading end of February, but felt it is too broad as it stands. The intent of the Bill is good, but the devil's in the details, according to Bidois. Particularly so when it comes to enforcing the Bill. Bidois is also interested in following Australia's example with building up an ecosystem of repair shops, to which manufacturers can ship spare parts, manuals and other such required items.

Andy Foster of NZ First, most recently known for his "woke bank" bill, referred to "Winston's mower" as one item that could benefit from the right to repair, and also the now-classic example of US farmers wanting to mend their tractors. Foster too thinks the Bill needs to be narrowed down.

ACT is against the Bill, with Todd Stephenson saying it'll add costs for local manufacturers, and potentially reduce the range of imported goods and innovation. Stephenson also said some tech is actually planned to be obsolete and not designed to be repaired, a notion that didn't seem popular with the other members debating the Bill.

Labour is backing the Bill, with Arena Williams saying it is a good one that recognises Kiwi ingenuity involved in actually getting out and fixing things, and saving waste. The Bill passed the first reading 63-60, with National and ACT voting against.

Here's the explanatory note for the Consumer Guarantees (Right to Repair) Amendment Bill:

This Bill amends the Consumer Guarantees Act 1993 to require manufacturers to make repair parts and information available to consumers. This will extend the lifetime of products, keeping resources in circulation and waste out of landfills. This reform is an important step toward building a circular resource economy to mitigate climate change and protect biodiversity. By enabling consumers to repair rather than replace products, it also reduces household expenses at a moment when cost pressures are particularly acute.

This Bill gives consumers the right to repair their products by repealing section 42, replacing section 12 and inserting new section 19A. Section 42 provides that repair facilities and parts do not have to be made available if the consumer is notified at the time the product is supplied that these will not be available. This means that many products, which might be easily repaired, are instead dumped. The Bill removes this provision. The Bill also replaces section 12 to expand consumers’ guarantees regarding information, repairs, and spare parts. It requires that the manufacturer provides, upon the consumers’ request, the information, spare parts, and tools necessary to diagnose, maintain, or repair goods which have been supplied by the manufacturer. New section 19A empowers consumers to request that suppliers repair goods rather than replacing them.

Keeping products in use as long as practicably possible preserves valuable resources. It reduces the emissions created by producing and transporting new products. Resources are kept in circulation and out of landfills. It is a small but critical step toward upholding New Zealand’s commitment, under the Paris Agreement, to contribute to the global effort to limit global warming to an increase of 1.5°C. Equally, strengthening consumers’ right to repair will help to alleviate current financial pressures which, while occurring globally, are felt most acutely by those with the least.