A Timely Debate

It’s amazing how heated some people get about the issue of Daylight Savings in this country. I mean, we’re only talking about the clocks going back or forward an hour twice a year, is it really that big a deal? It seems it is in Australia, a country where five states adopt Daylight Savings and three, including WA, do not. This means that a country which normally has three separate time zones fragments into five. The idea of Daylight Savings is to give people an extra hour’s sunlight in the warm summer months, which is quite a nice gesture really – I’m all for that. It’s no coincidence that those states that don’t have Daylight Savings – Western Australia, the Northern Territory and Queensland – are all states with large rural areas and a lot of farmers. It’s generally the farmers that are against the idea as they still have to get up at the same time so it actually means extra darkness rather than extra light for them. Or something like that. The state that this debate rages most fiercely in is Queensland. The business end of Queensland in the South, an area that includes Brisbane, is desperate for Daylight Savings in order to keep to the same time as Sydney, Melbourne and Canberra, something they insist costs them millions of dollars, but rural northern Queensland are just as adamant that they do not want it. There has even been talk of splitting the state in half with one side participating in Daylight Savings and the other not. Ridiculous. They just love a good argument, those Aussies.


The majority of WA is pretty vehement that it does not want Daylight Savings under any circumstances – there have been four referendums on the matter since 1975, the last being in 2009, and it has been rejected every time. However, there are supporters and they are passionate about their cause, even setting up a Facebook page to support it entitled ‘Don’t let the Fun Police ruin life – give Perth back daylight saving’. According to one of its most dedicated supporters, “it’s not a time zone, it’s a state of mind.” Hmm, perhaps just a hint of Drama Queen behaviour there. However, whilst that statement might be a little over-dramatic I actually agree. Who doesn’t want an extra hour of sunlight to enjoy the day? Year-round it’s dark or nearly dark by the time The Husband gets home. We can’t pop down to the beach or go for a walk or enjoy a barbecue in the sunshine. Those damn farmers. Oh well, at least we won’t lose an hour’s sleep on Sunday morning.