There will be no new referendum to introduce daylight saving into Queensland, Attorney-General Deb Frecklington confirmed on Thursday.
More than 2500 Queenslanders signed an official e-petition, posted in January, calling on the State Government to either conduct a new referendum on daylight saving or trial a dual-time zone arrangement where daylight saving applied only to south-east Queensland.
The petitioners noted the last referendum on daylight saving in Queensland was held in 1992, more than 30 years ago.
“Since then, South-East Queensland has grown significantly in population, economic activity and national integration, yet remains out of sync with the daylight-saving schedules of NSW, Victoria, the Australian Capital Territory and Tasmania,” the petition said.
“This misalignment causes disruption to business and trade across State borders, confusion in national broadcasting, transport, and scheduling; and missed lifestyle and tourism opportunities for SEQ residents.
“We acknowledge that regional Queensland may not support daylight saving, however, SEQ – home to over 70 per cent of the State’s population – deserves the opportunity to revisit this issue through a democratic process.”
Mrs Frecklington said the State Government appreciated there were many different and “strongly held” views on daylight saving.
“I recognise the matters raised by the petitioners … I also note the petitioners’ view that attitudes toward daylight saving may have changed since the statewide referendum held in 1992,” the Attorney-General said.
However, she said reforms to Queensland’s time zone were not currently under consideration by the State Government.
“The Crisafulli Government is focussed on addressing other critical priorities.”
I live in south-east Queensland. As a software developer I spend many hours in front of a screen each day and am about as far from a farmer as you can get. If I tried to grow weeds they would die.
The last thing I need or want is daylight saving. I look forward to the summer months when I can get up early and enjoy a walk and some sun before I spend the day inside in front of a screen and I don’t need to have the sun still up at 9:00 when I want to get some sleep.
If you want daylight saving, move to Melbourne.
I agree with Vivian. Qld is not the odd one out, rather the southern States have it wrong. Maybe they need a vote on repealing daylight savings time.