Daylight Saving for South East Queensland Referendum Bill 2010 (Qld)
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Queensland Parliamentary Library Daylight Saving in Queensland: Daylight Saving for South East Queensland Referendum Bill 2010 (Qld) The Daylight Saving for South East Queensland Referendum Bill 2010 (Qld), a Private Member’s bill, proposes to introduce daylight saving in part of south east Queensland if a majority of electors in Queensland approve of it at a referendum. The proposed introduction of daylight saving in south east Queensland is an issue that generates much discussion. A recent Queensland Government survey found that while approximately two thirds of the south east Queensland respondents were in favour of holding a referendum on daylight saving for south east Queensland, approximately two thirds of the respondents from outside the south east were opposed to the idea. This Research Brief looks at the issue of daylight saving, particularly in relation to Queensland. After providing background on the setting of standard time in Australia and how daylight saving came to be adopted in numerous jurisdictions, the paper summarises the history of daylight saving in Queensland. Mary Westcott Research Brief No 2010/22 Queensland Parliamentary Library General Distribution Research Team Research and Information Service Ms Karen Sampford, Team Leader (07) 3406 7116 Mrs Nicolee Dixon, Senior Parliamentary Research Officer (07) 3406 7409 Mrs Renee Gastaldon, Parliamentary Research Officer (07) 3406 7241 Ms Mary Westcott, Parliamentary Research Officer (07) 3406 7372 Ms Kelli Longworth, Parliamentary Research Officer (07) 3406 7468 Research Publications are compiled for Members of the Queensland Parliament, for use in parliamentary debates and for related parliamentary purposes. Information in publications is current to the date of publication. Information on legislation, case law or legal policy issues does not constitute legal advice. Research Publications on Bills reflect the legislation as introduced and should not be considered complete guides to the legislation. To determine whether a Bill has been enacted, or whether amendments have been made to a Bill during consideration in detail, the Queensland Legislation Annotations, prepared by the Office of the Queensland Parliamentary Counsel, or the Bills Update, produced by the Table Office of the Queensland Parliament, should be consulted. Readers should also refer to the relevant Alert Digest of the Scrutiny of Legislation Committee of the Queensland Parliament at: www.parliament.qld.gov.au/SLC © Queensland Parliamentary Library, 2010 ISSN 1443-7902 ISBN 978-1-921056-87-1 JULY 2010 Copyright protects this publication. Except for purposes permitted by the Copyright Act 1968, reproduction by whatever means is prohibited, other than by Members of the Queensland Parliament in the course of their official duties, without the prior written permission of the Clerk of the Parliament on behalf of the Parliament of Queensland. Inquiries should be addressed to: Team Leader, General Distribution Research Team Research and Information Service Queensland Parliamentary Library Parliament House George Street, Brisbane QLD 4000 Ms Karen Sampford. (Tel: 07 3406 7116) Email: [email protected] Information about Research Publications can be found on the Internet at: www.parliament.qld.gov.au/publications CONTENTS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ....................................................................................... 1 INTRODUCTION.............................................................................................1 2 STANDARD TIME...........................................................................................1 2.1 DIFFERENT TIME ZONES ................................................................................3 3 DAYLIGHT SAVING.......................................................................................4 3.1 BRIEF HISTORY OF DAYLIGHT SAVING ..........................................................5 3.1.1 World War I ...........................................................................................6 3.1.2 World War II..........................................................................................7 3.1.3 Post-World War II..................................................................................8 4 DAYLIGHT SAVING IN AUSTRALIA.........................................................8 4.1 TASMANIA .....................................................................................................8 4.2 NEW SOUTH WALES, AUSTRALIAN CAPITAL TERRITORY, VICTORIA AND SOUTH AUSTRALIA................................................................................9 4.3 NORTHERN TERRITORY ...............................................................................10 4.4 WESTERN AUSTRALIA .................................................................................10 4.5 QUEENSLAND ..............................................................................................11 5 QUEENSLAND...............................................................................................11 5.1 QUEENSLAND’S GEOGRAPHY ......................................................................11 5.1.1 Latitude and Longitude ........................................................................11 5.1.2 Temperatures in Queensland................................................................12 5.2 WAR TIME DAYLIGHT SAVING ....................................................................13 5.3 ISLAND TIME................................................................................................13 5.4 1971-1972 TRIAL OF DAYLIGHT SAVING AND 1973 REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE ON DAYLIGHT SAVING ............................................................13 5.5 1989-1990 TRIAL OF DAYLIGHT SAVING.....................................................15 5.5.1 Daylight Saving Task Force ................................................................16 5.6 SUMMER TIME ACT 1990 (QLD)..................................................................19 5.7 1992 REFERENDUM .....................................................................................19 5.8 PETITIONS....................................................................................................20 5.9 2007 SURVEY ON ATTITUDES TOWARDS DAYLIGHT SAVING ......................21 5.9.1 General Support for Daylight Saving ..................................................21 5.9.2 Two Time Zones..................................................................................21 5.9.3 No Daylight Saving .............................................................................22 5.9.4 Queensland Government Response to the Survey Results ..................22 6 DAYLIGHT SAVING FOR SOUTH EAST QUEENSLAND REFERENDUM BILL 2010..........................................................................22 6.1 COMPONENTS OF THE BILL ..........................................................................23 6.1.1 The Referendum Question...................................................................23 6.1.2 Amendments to the Standard Time Act 1894 (Qld)............................24 6.2 GOVERNMENT COSTS ASSOCIATED WITH THE BILL .....................................25 7 REACTION TO THE BILL ..........................................................................26 7.1 QUEENSLAND GOVERNMENT.......................................................................26 7.2 LNP ............................................................................................................28 7.3 DAYLIGHT SAVING FOR SOUTH EAST QUEENSLAND PARTY ........................28 7.4 BUSINESS ....................................................................................................29 7.5 NORTH QUEENSLAND..................................................................................29 7.6 PETER WELLINGTON MP.............................................................................30 8 CONCLUSION ...............................................................................................30 APPENDIX.............................................................................................................33 RECENT QPL RESEARCH PUBLICATIONS 2010........................................35 Daylight Saving for South East Queensland Referendum Bill EXECUTIVE SUMMARY This Research Brief looks at the issue of daylight saving, particularly in relation to Queensland. As explained in Parts 2 and 3 of this Research Brief, daylight saving involves a modification of the time so as to provide more daylight in the evening and less in the early morning. During the two World Wars, Australia and a number of other countries instituted daylight saving to reduce the need for artificial lighting and thus save fuel. It was not used again in Australia until 1967 when a severe drought limited Tasmania’s energy supplies and it was considered that daylight saving would reduce the demand for power. In the summer of 1971-1972, a number of places in Australia, including Queensland, trialled daylight saving. South Australia and the eastern states, apart from Queensland, adopted it permanently following the trial. Parts 5 and 6 of this Research Brief provide a chronological history of daylight saving in Queensland from its use during the war years through to the reaction provoked by the Daylight Saving for South East Queensland Referendum Bill 2010 (Qld). The Daylight Saving for South East Queensland Referendum Bill 2010 (Qld) was introduced into the Legislative Assembly on 14 April 2010 by the Independent Member for