After somewhat despairing about who I could bring myself to vote for in the lead-up to this year’s general election, this is the first time I can remember that my vote is less likely to be for a party I like but for the party that I dislike the least, as they all seem to come with their own set of policies with an ick factor.
However, for the Automotive Repair sector both Labour and National have come out positively in favour of introducing Right to Repair legislation in relation to cars.
Specifically, Labour says, “Your car belongs to you. You should be able to choose who fixes it,” going on to claim this would be key to bringing down prices for New Zealanders.  National has stated they will support progressing Dan Bidois’ members bill on the same topic.
Whilst this is a positive step, it would likely take some time to get legislation passed even, regardless of which side is the winner after the election.
Both parties also have a raft of proposals to assist small businesses, many of which, surprisingly, are actually aligned.
I guess it is better late than never – our neighbours across the ditch not only already have similar legislation, but have seen a round of updates to the initial legislation to plug some gaps and keep up with advancements in car technology.