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.”
