Brisbane lord mayor’s daylight saving fight divides the LNP

You can set your clocks by it.

After the states south of Queensland turned their clocks forward an hour at 2am on Sunday, the debate about the reintroduction of daylight saving in the Sunshine State reignited.

Brisbane Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner makes the case for daylight saving on Sunday.Credit: Cameron Atfield

Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner spearheaded the push on Sunday morning, exposing a schism within the LNP.

Surrounded by Brisbane business and cultural figures, Schrinner said Queensland missed out on about $4 billion of economic activity every year because it did not follow the southerners’ lead in adopting daylight saving.

“This morning, the rest of the eastern seaboard of Australia switched their clocks over to daylight saving time, and sadly, once again, Queensland has missed out on this opportunity,” he said.

“It’s an opportunity from a lifestyle point of view, and it’s an economic opportunity as well.”

Riverlife owner John Sharpe, who runs outdoor recreation activities on the Brisbane River, said daylight saving would benefit Queensland businesses, such as his.

“When we first started many years ago, we were running morning tours, but we don’t run them any more,” he said.

“The middle of the day is just far too hot for us here in Queensland, so that extra hour in the afternoon is exactly what we would need, and it would benefit my business enormously.”

Steven Bradbury doesn’t want Queensland to be the last state standing against daylight saving.Credit: Cameron Atfield

Also in support was Winter Olympic gold medallist Steven Bradbury, who did not want Queensland to be the last state standing in standard time over summer.

“I remember the trial back from when I was a kid,” he said. “When you got home from school, the first thing you look forward to is when daylight savings kick in and you get the extra time to go out on your bike and play with your mates.”

It was the second time this year that Schrinner has led the charge for change. In February, he marked the 30th anniversary of the failed daylight saving referendum to argue the case for another trial.

On the day of the 1992 referendum, in which 54.5 per cent of Queenslanders voted against daylight saving, there were 1,835,727 voters on the state’s electoral role. As of the 2020 state election, that number had increased by 84 per cent, to 3,377,476.

Schrinner said a referendum held 30 years ago would hold little weight today.

“It’s not fair that a large percentage of the Queensland population has not had a say on this,” he said.

“Queensland has changed incredibly over the past 30 years.”

Schrinner said the legislation already existed – the Summer Time Act of 1990, which was repealed at a referendum three years later.

“It’s five pages,” he said. “It’s a simple document that can be introduced into the parliament. All you have to do is change the dates.”

But if Schrinner was hoping for some support from his LNP colleagues in George Street, he would have been disappointed.

Queensland Opposition Leader David Crisafulli said while he respected Schrinner’s views, there was no chance of daylight saving being introduced in any government he led.

“I’m sure he understands that I have different views because I have lived and worked in both sides of the state,” he said.

“I’m not going to do anything to divide this place.”

The geographic divide is widely seen as the biggest stumbling block, with the north-west of the state largely opposed.

That has led to calls for the south-east corner of Queensland to go it alone, following the lead of other dual-time states, such as NSW.

The western NSW city of Broken Hill is on central time, in line with Adelaide and Darwin, rather than its state capital, Sydney.

“Ultimately, I think a whole-state trial is the way to go, and then let people have their say,” Schrinner said.

“If as part of having their say they suggest having more than one time zone in Queensland, that’s something that can be considered.”

Agriculture Minister Mark Furner said there were more pressing matters requiring the state government’s attention.

“There’s no debate around the cabinet table about daylight saving,” he said.

“...There’s pluses and minuses against daylight saving, but at this point in time it will be a decision that will be made by the government should it arise as matter for consideration.”