Division in time

WHISPERS in Queensland suggest the idea of splitting the state into two time zones during the summer months could be introduced next year.

WHISPERS in Queensland suggest the idea of splitting the state into two time zones during the summer months could be introduced next year.

The southeast corner -- the Gold Coast, Brisbane and the Sunshine Coast -- would go to daylight saving time to keep in step with NSW, Victoria and Tassie. The rest would remain on Eastern Standard Time all year. It makes sense as most of Queensland is well west of Brisbane. The idea was being pushed earlier this week by John Howard after Queensland Premier Anna Bligh rejected the statewide introduction of daylight saving. Bligh also ruled out separate time zones, but government research shows wide support for daylight saving in the southeast, while regional areas are strongly opposed. Queensland Nationals leader Jeff Seeney, one of the leading anti-daylight saving campaigners, yesterday admitted dual zones were the way of the future.

Sherrin the glory

THE AUSSIE obsession with all things big -- the Big Banana, the Big Gumboot, the Big Prawn, the Big Ram, even the Big Rolling Pin in Wodonga, Victoria -- has a new candidate, with a proposal to build the Big Football in Geelong. Family First's senate candidate Gary Plumridge believes the new AFL premiers should construct a giant $450,000 Sherrin footy. Plumridge reckons the 10m-high footy could be erected on Geelong's foreshore or in the city centre. "Geelong has been revived and we've got to keep the momentum going for our great city, keep the spirit alive," he says. "We talk a lot about boosting tourism, and if Geelong had something like the Big Football, families would travel to see it."

Watch in horror

CELEBRITY stockbroker Rene Rivkin, who died in 2005, was not known for his good taste. His floating gin palace was such a dog it should have had a black nose painted on the bow. He blocked traffic in the street outside his home with a huge US-made Hummer 4x4 and a fleet of other exotic cars, and he couldn't speak without flashing about his solid-gold worry beads and puffing cigar smoke in your face. But the online auction of his 37 watches by Anthony Warner, trustee of his bankrupt estate, sets a new low. It is almost impossible to imagine that anyone could assemble such an appallingly garish collection of timepieces. Punters who wish to reinforce the view that money can't buy good taste have until November2 to submit a tender.

Hockey on ice

IF Workplace Relations Minister Joe Hockey is looking a little confused, it's understandable. Yesterday bookie Lasseters Sportsbook said he was a near certainty to hang on to his seat of North Sydney, while Kevin Rudd said ALP polling suggested he would lose. Lasseters is quoting Hockey at $1.10 to retain the seat over the ALP's high-profile candidate and former ABC weatherman Mike Bailey, who needs a 10 per cent swing to make his way to Canberra. "If Kevin Rudd and the Labor Party are hanging their hats on internal polls of 400 people to win seats, then perhaps they need to revise their strategy," Lasseters' Gerard Daffy says. But Rudd says internal polling in North Sydney shows a 13 per cent swing against the Coalition: "Mr Hockey has a real challenge on his hands because Mr Hockey is into Work Choices and AWAs big time."

Blessed be the neddies

HORSE trainers and workers at Sydney's Royal Randwick racecourse will be less than impressed with the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference, which yesterday expressed "prayerful solidarity" with those whose livelihood is suffering due to the horse flu crisis. Conference president Philip Wilson says fellow bishops are deeply concerned about the economic effects of the outbreak: "We are aware of the serious impact this is having on many thousands of working-class Australians and their families, and we wish to express our solidarity with them at this difficult time." Wilson's statement came less than 24 hours after George Pell confirmed Pope Benedict XVI will be at the track in July next year for the youth gathering that threatens to close the course for months. "We have no contingency plans. We will be going to Randwick," Sydney's Catholic Archbishop says.

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