Daylight saving poll gets emphatic 88% yes result

UPDATE: A State Government MP has emphatically ruled out Queensland trialling daylight saving before the next election, despite a poll showing the majority of Queenslanders would welcome a new trial.

AGRICULTURE Minister Bill Byrne has emphatically ruled out Queensland trialling daylight saving before the next election.

Mr Byrne told media today that winding the clock forward an hour for six months every October was “absolutely” not a priority for the State Government.

“This is the Sunshine state,” Mr Byrne said. “We are not Victorians. We are not Melbournians.

“We are not sitting in the gloom of the south. We are very generously set up for our climate.”

The issue of whether to introduce daylight saving in Queensland has been a regular political hot potato since it’s implementation was narrowly defeated at a 1992 referendum following a three-year trial.

Mr Byrne, who said no one had approached him about the issue in regional Queensland, skirted questions about whether the State Government lacked the political will to make the change.

“I don’t think there’s anything that would make the Government reconsider its position at this point,” Mr Byrne said.

“It’s not a priority for us. It’s not on our agenda.”

However, he was unable to rule out trialling it in future.

“I can only speak about the now and where we sit,” Mr Byrne said.

EARLIER: THE deputy mayors of Brisbane and Townsville have thrown their support behind a fresh daylight saving trial.

Brisbane Deputy Mayor Adrian Schrinner is pushing for Queensland to trial daylight saving to help boost the economy, 25 years after residents voted against it.

Queensland stands with WA and the NT as the only Australian regions that don’t wind clocks forward an hour for six months each October.

Cr Schrinner has been garnering online support through a poll for a fresh trial after the state’s last one was held for three years from 1989.

Cr Schrinner told The Courier-Mail the time was ripe for another trial in either the whole state or at least the southeast.

“A daylight savings trial for one or two seasons would give people an idea of how it would work in Queensland conditions,” Cr Schrinner said. “They could then decide if it’s something they want to stick with or keep the existing situation.”

Townsville Deputy Mayor Les Walker agreed the idea had merit, telling The Courier-Mail households would likely save money on power as families capitalised on natural light.

“It would be a cost saver for the average family with a couple of children,” he said. “There are benefits when it comes to utilising daylight saving when it comes to energy costs.”

Queensland stands with WA and the NT as the only Australian regions that don’t wind clocks forward an hour for six months each October.

Queenslanders narrowly voted against the move when a referendum was held at the end of the trial in 1992. Petitions have regularly appeared in Parliament since.

“Do you support a new trial being held?” the current survey asks. It was yesterday supported by 88 per cent of the 7154 Survey Monkey respondents, with 11 per cent opposing it and 1 per cent undecided.

A 2010 Chamber of Commerce and Industry Queensland survey found three in five businesses supported daylight saving across the state. But just one in five supported it in only the southeast corner.

Bank of Queensland chief economist Peter Munckton said there would be obvious benefits for business if Queensland was on the same time as southern states. But he played down its significance.

“There’s obviously some useful benefits – particularly if you’re on the border,” Mr Munckton said. “But is it a really big issue?”

Katter’s Australian Party MP for Mt Isa Robbie Katter said he would “resist any moves towards daylight saving because of the impact it would have on regional Queensland”.

“If Brisbane residents want more daylight perhaps they should get up earlier, like our farmers have been doing for years,” he said.

Acting Premier Jackie Trad said: “There are no plans to introduce daylight savings ... during this term of government.”