Tag Archives: QLD

Daylight Savings Time Explained – and Queensland

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Coming from The Netherlands (Amsterdam is 52 degrees North) which has had daylight savings since 1940s, I didn’t consider it a fuss also having having it here.

The problem in South-East Queensland where I live is interacting with the Southern states in summer, both in person (cross-border trade like produce that needs to get to a market) as well as over phone. Essentially the SE-QLD people have to work for an extra hour in summer to accommodate.

The video below makes very good points though, even if some examples are US-centric. It covers a lot of ground and the analysis of the original reason (more daylight to reduce energy use from artificial light) is interesting: it makes sense if you spend most of your day outside. However, most of us don’t do that these days (sadly, but fact) so considering the common use of air-conditioning in our parts which actually increases our energy consumption, and the relative efficiency of modern lighting compared to the heaps of other energy-guzzling stuff… does it really make sense to have Daylight Savings?

I’m not so convinced now. To fix the practical problem, QLD might need to convince the other states to ditch DST… reduced energy consumption might be an interesting argument for NSW and perhaps SA, less so in VIC/ACT. Anyway it’s a completely different perspective, and I reckon it deserves some consideration.

Input on Daylight Savings in South East Queensland

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A Queensland member of parliament has introduced a private members bill to hold a new referendum on Daylight Savings time. All Queenslanders would get a vote on it, but the daylight savings would just be for South East Queensland where it actually makes sense. The online request for input (until May 31st, so fill in now!) also asks whether a trial should be held in SEQ prior to the referendum.

I’m for Daylight Savings in SEQ… it would provide us with longer light in the evenings in the summer. Also, many people work with people in other states. Speaking from personal experience, it’s a pest in summer because NSW and VIC are an hourr ahead, and to manage I often need to be available an hour earlier to talk with clients while still having the regular hours as well – so essentially the working day becomes an hour longer… that’s really just weird and unnecessary.

Because Queensland is so large, it does not necessarily make sense to have all of QLD do the daylight savings. While that may appear odd, there is a natural “boundary” in central queensland below which DST would apply.