Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson has apologised to the bill's supporters. Photo / Mark Mitchell
Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson has apologised after her Member’s Bill was discharged from the House because of her being slightly late to turn up to its second reading on Wednesday evening.
Davidson tried to have it reinstated into Parliament’s business, but that was rejected, meaning a piece of legislation she’s worked on for more than a year is unlikely to be back up for debate any time soon.
The Consumer Guarantees (Right to Repair) Amendment Bill was on Parliament’s agenda to be debated on Wednesday, but when it came time for Davidson to speak on it, she wasn’t in the chamber.
National MP Tom Rutherford stood to alert the House.
“I was expecting the member in charge of the legislation from the Green Party to stand and take the first call on this bill, being it her piece of legislation, but she hasn’t turned up to the House,” he said.
As Rutherford was speaking, Parliament TV’s camera shifted to a wide shot of the House, showing Davidson not in her seat. It returned to Rutherford briefly, before then showing the House again, but this time with Davidson there.
National’s Maureen Pugh, an assistant Speaker, was in charge at the time and took some advice.
She eventually told the House: “The member wasn’t present to move the motion and I had just started ruling on that, it then dropped off and then we move to the next item.” Pugh then moved the House on to other business.
In a statement to the Herald, the Greens co-leader said she “made a mistake” that meant her bill would not go through the second reading stage “and will not progress further through Parliament”.
“While in Parliament this afternoon, I underestimated the speed at which a piece of legislation would progress through the House. This meant that when the second reading for the Consumer Guarantees (Right to Repair) Amendment Bill was brought to the House, I was 20 seconds too late to ensure it was picked up.
“We made immediate efforts to try and fix the mistake, to seek leave to reinstate the bill back into the House, but this was not granted. This means that the bill would need to be pulled from the biscuit tin again to be progressed. So it is unlikely to progress until the Greens are in government.
“I want to apologise to the people, communities and groups whose hard work was put into this bill. While we could not confirm if this bill had enough votes to pass through the second reading, we really needed it to be debated regardless. I will not give up on this kaupapa.”
Rutherford described it on social media as “bizarre scenes in Parliament”.
“Marama Davidson fails to show up to speak on her bill, meaning the bill is discharged. Labour can’t get basic details right in their policies, their mates in the Greens can’t show up on time and Te Pāti Māori can’t show up at all. Unfit to govern!”
Bizarre scenes in Parliament. Marama Davidson fails to show up to speak on her bill, meaning the bill is discharged. Labour can’t get basic details right in their policies, their mates in the Greens can’t show up on time and Te Pati Māori can’t show up at all. Unfit to govern!
— Tom Rutherford (@TomRutherfordMP) October 22, 2025
Davidson’s legislation would have strengthened consumers’ rights to have goods repaired. This would have included allowing consumers to request goods be repaired, rather than replaced, reducing waste. It was first introduced in April last year.
While it passed its first reading with the support of Labour, the Greens, Te Pāti Māori and New Zealand First, a majority of parties at the select committee stage said it shouldn’t progress any further.
This isn’t the first time recently where legislation has been discharged because of a member not raising to speak on it. In July last year, no minister rose to speak on the Government’s Regulatory Systems (Social Security) Amendment Bill.
The bill was in the name of Social Development Minister Louise Upston, who was not in the chamber at the time. She told the Herald the call for the bill “came earlier than expected” and she was in a Cabinet committee at the time.
Pugh was also in the Speaker’s chair when that happened and said “as the minister was not here [in the chamber] to take the call” the bill should be discharged.
Jamie Ensor is a senior political reporter in the NZ Herald press gallery team based at Parliament. He was previously a TV reporter and digital producer in the Newshub press gallery office. He was a finalist this year for Political Journalist of the Year at the Voyager Media Awards.