Research Paper Index

Research Paper no. 10 2009–10

Daylight saving time: summer 2009–10 and autumn 2010

Contents

• Executive summary
• Introduction
• Time zones
  • World
  • Australia
  • External territories
• Daylight saving time
  • Queensland
  • Western Australia
  • Extensions
• Referenda
• Summer 2009–10 and autumn 2010
• Appendix 1. State and territory legislation
  • New South Wales
  • Victoria
  • Queensland
  • South Australia
  • Western Australia
  • Tasmania
  • Northern Territory
  • Australian Capital Territory
• Appendix 2. Wartime legislation
  • First World War
  • Second World War

Introduction

Daylight saving time in Australia has a long and chequered history.

This is largely because the responsibility for the setting of time zones has remained with state and territory authorities. Commonwealth power over weights and measures in the Constitution extends to the measurement of time, but whether it has power to legislate about time zones is not free from doubt.^[1]

This turbulent history is also because the institution of daylight saving time impacts in a fundamental way on the manner in which people lead their lives. This in turn means that there are many people who feel strongly on the issue and are vocal in their praise or criticism of daylight saving time.

This paper updates a November 2008 Parliamentary Library publication on the same topic; it provides more historical detail and sets out the changes that will be in place for the summer of 2009–10 and the autumn of 2010.[2] It also provides a ready reckoner to calculate time of day in any part of Australia throughout the daylight saving period and beyond.

Time zones

World

World time is measured in relation to Coordinated Universal Time (UTC).[3] Using UTC as local time worldwide would have the disadvantage that 12 o’clock at any place on the globe would not occur at around the time the sun is at its highest point in the sky at that place.

To avoid this problem the world is divided into time zones.[4] Over the oceans, time zones are equally spaced and 15 degrees of longitude apart except for the deviations of the International Date Line. This makes 24 one-hour time zones totalling the full 360-degree circumference of the world.

Over land masses, political, administrative and geographic considerations have changed this ideal 15 degree geometry. In Australia this means that with one minor exception the borders of time zones follow state and territory boundaries.[5]

Australia

Australia has three time zones. These are called Eastern Standard Time (EST), Central Standard Time (CST), and Western Standard Time (WST) which is sometimes called Western Australian Time. These zones are sometimes referred to as AEST, ACST and AWST respectively where the prefix refers to Australia. These time zones were set up by colonial legislatures in the mid to late 1890s.[6]

EST is 10 hours ahead of UTC. In winter it applies to New South Wales, except in Broken Hill[7] which is on CST; Victoria; Queensland; Tasmania; and the Australian Capital Territory. Lord Howe Island is administratively part of New South Wales, but has standard time 10 hours 30 minutes ahead of UTC.[8]

CST is 9 hours 30 minutes ahead of UTC. CST applies throughout South Australia, the Northern Territory and Broken Hill in New South Wales.[9]

WST is 8 hours ahead of UTC and applies throughout Western Australia.

External territories

Australia has other time zones that are associated with the external territories under its control. The Cocos (Keeling) Islands are 6 hours and 30 minutes ahead of UTC; Christmas Island is 7 hours ahead of UTC; and Norfolk Island is 11 hours 30 minutes ahead of UTC.[10]

Australia's four Antarctic bases have their times determined more for convenience of contact with the Australian Antarctic Division[11] of the Department of Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts in Hobart than their geographic location. Mawson is 6 hours ahead of UTC; Davis is 7 hours ahead of UTC; Casey is 8 hours ahead of UTC; and Macquarie Island is 10 hours ahead of UTC.[12] The territories of Heard Island and McDonald Islands; the Coral Sea Islands; and Ashmore and Cartier Islands are usually uninhabited and do not have times set for them.

Daylight saving time

Daylight saving is the name for the process of putting clocks forward by one hour during summer and autumn to extend the hours of daylight available at the end of the normal working day. It was introduced across Australia in 1917 as a wartime fuel-saving measure, but was abandoned the same year in the face of public opposition. It was introduced across Australia again in 1942 under National Security Regulations and in the summers of 1942–43 and 1943–44. Western Australia, which had made strong representations, was exempt from daylight saving in 1943–44.[13]

There was no daylight saving time in Australia after the Second World War until Tasmania—excluding King Island—introduced it in 1967–68.[14] New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia and the Australian Capital Territory adopted daylight saving time in 1971.[15]

Queensland

Queensland abandoned daylight saving time in 1972, reintroduced it in 1989 and abandoned it again following a referendum in 1992. In 2006, a Queensland Parliament E‑Petition in favour of the introduction of daylight saving time was signed by 62 232 people; a parallel E‑Petition against the introduction of daylight saving time was signed by 7516 people.[16] In response to the petitions, the then acting Premier, Anna Bligh, in rejecting any change noted that she was ‘unaware of any current workable model for state-wide daylight saving that would be supported by a majority of Queenslanders’.[17] Later, then Premier Peter Beattie indicated that the Queensland government would gauge public support for a two-zone daylight saving time system for Queensland. He was reported as saying that an assessment would be made to see if ‘people believe that the southeast corner [of Queensland] should be able to be in a separate time zone with daylight saving’.[18] A further two E-Petitions were presented during 2007 and 2008; one requested a referendum to introduce daylight saving time, the other a referendum to trial daylight saving time.[19] In responding to these E-Petitions, the Queensland Premier, Anna Bligh, drew on the Beattie-commissioned AC Nielsen survey report and noted that ‘ ... there continues to be strong opposition to daylight saving from communities in regional and rural areas ... ’ and ‘ ... strong opposition to the introduction of a split time zone in Queensland ... ’ She emphatically stated that the government ‘... does not propose to conduct a referendum or introduce a trial to further gauge public opinion on this matter.’[20]

Western Australia

Western Australia adopted daylight saving time in 1974, but abandoned it following a referendum in 1975. It then reintroduced it in 1983–84, only to abandon it again following a referendum during 1984. A further referendum in 1992 sealed the fate of daylight saving time in Western Australia until the question resurfaced during 2006.

On 24 October 2006, the Premier of Western Australia, Alan Carpenter, indicated his support for a three-year trial of daylight saving time in Western Australia beginning on the first Sunday in the 2006–07 summer, 3 December.[21] This, coupled with the decision by both sides of politics to support a free vote, led to a 37–14 vote in the Legislative Assembly in favour of the daylight saving time trial. A subsequent vote of the Legislative Council passed the trial with a vote of 21–10.[22] The Western Australian Daylight Saving Act 2006 legislated that daylight saving time in that state would begin on the last Sunday in October and would finish on the last Sunday in March; the dates of these Sundays are included in the legislation.

Following the end of the trial, a referendum on the future of daylight saving in Western Australia was held on 16 May 2009. Daylight saving time was rejected at that referendum by a margin of around 5 per cent.[23]

Extensions

At the Council of Australian Governments’ meeting in Canberra on 14 July 2006, the representatives of New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia, Tasmania and the Australian Capital Territory stated that they would consider synchronising the start and end dates for daylight saving time.[24] In early 2007, the mainland jurisdictions agreed to bring forward the beginning of their daylight saving periods from the last Sunday in October to the first Sunday in October. These changes would bring them into line with Tasmania which starts daylight saving on that day. They also agreed to delay the end of the daylight saving period from the last Sunday in March to the first Sunday in April. Subsequently all these jurisdictions set the start date as the first Sunday in October and the end date as the first Sunday in April.[25] These dates are roughly co-incident with the spring and autumn equinoxes, when day and night are of equal length.

On 27 October 2008, the South Australian Minister for Industrial Relations, Paul Caica, invited South Australian people to comment on the extension to daylight saving time. He was reported as saying that the government of South Australia would use public feedback to decide on whether to make permanent the 2009 extension to daylight saving time.[26] The Minister later said that ‘ ... two rounds of community consultation undertaken by the State Government’s SafeWork SA over the last two years, have shown broad community support for the extended period of daylight saving’.[27]

Referenda

As indicated in the introduction above, the issue of daylight saving time has generated heated debate over the years because it impacts in a fundamental way on the manner in which people lead their lives.

Some of the arguments that people advance in favour of daylight saving time are that it increases the opportunities for after-work leisure activities and for shopping and that it reduces overall energy consumption. Arguments against the imposition of daylight saving time include that it increases economic costs and disrupts sleep patterns, particularly of children, at the times of changeover; it has an economic cost to people providing evening entertainment; and it is disruptive of the work lives of people such as farmers whose work lives are regulated by the sun.

Because of this controversy which appears difficult to resolve by normal parliamentary means, several states have conducted referenda to determine the views of electors.[28] The following table shows results of recent daylight saving time referenda.[29]

Summer 2009–10 and autumn 2010

For the 2009–10 summer and the autumn of 2010, New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia, Tasmania and the Australian Capital Territory all have daylight saving time running from 0200 standard time Sunday 4 October 2009 (0300 daylight saving time) to 0200 standard time (0300 daylight saving time) Sunday 4 April 2009. Lord Howe Island clocks are moved forward half an hour during daylight saving time in New South Wales to make them operate on the same time as New South Wales during the summer period. Macquarie Island observes daylight saving time in line with Tasmania.

Queensland, Western Australia, the Northern Territory, Norfolk Island, Christmas Island, the Cocos (Keeling) Islands and the three Antarctic bases, Casey, Davis and Mawson, do not observe daylight saving time.[30]

The table below shows Australian time zones for 2009–10 and how they relate to UTC.

The ready reckoner below shows times in Australian states and territories during the summer of 2009–10 and autumn of 2010.

Appendix 1. State and territory legislation

New South Wales

Standard Time Act 1987

Victoria

Supreme Court Act 1986
Summer Time Act 1972

Queensland

Standard Time Act 1894

South Australia

The Standard Time Act 2009
Daylight Saving Act 1971
Daylight Saving Regulations 2009

Western Australia

Standard Time Act 2005

Tasmania

Standard Time Act 1895
Daylight Saving Act 2007

Northern Territory

Standard Time Act 2005

Australian Capital Territory

Standard Time and Summer Time Act 1972

Appendix 2. Wartime legislation

First World War

For the First World War, the legislation was the Daylight Saving Act 1916. It came into force on 1 January 1917.

Section 4 of that Act says: ‘Notwithstanding anything contained in any Act or State Act, from the hour of two in the morning of the day upon which this Act commences [1 January 1917] until the hour of two in the morning of the last Sunday in March next following that day, and thereafter from the hour of two in the morning of the last Sunday in September in each year until the hour of two in the morning of the last Sunday in March in the following year, Australian clock time shall, as regards each State and Territory being part of the Commonwealth, be one hour in advance of standard time.’

Section 2 of the Act stipulates that the Act should stay ‘in force for the duration of the war and six months thereafter, but no longer’. However, according to Ernest Scott people felt there was not enough twilight to make it worthwhile and people in rural and regional areas were not happy with it.[31] The Act was therefore repealed by the Daylight Saving Repeal Act 1917. This was passed in September 1917 and took effect immediately. Both Acts appear to rely on the Commonwealth's wartime defence power, as it has not been established whether the Commonwealth has any power to legislate in this area.

Second World War

For the Second World War, the legislation was Statutory Rule no. 392 of 1942. This was an amendment to the National Security (Supplementary) Regulations and was published in the Government Gazette on 10 September 1942. The text says: ‘Regulation 28 of the National Security (Supplementary) Regulations  is amended by adding at the end thereof the following subregulation: “(2.) Notwithstanding anything contained in any law of the Commonwealth or of any State or Territory, from the hour of two o'clock in the morning of Sunday, the twenty-seventh day of September, 1942, until the hour of two o'clock in the morning of Sunday, the twenty-eighth day of March, 1943, summer time shall, in respect of each State and Territory, be one hour in advance of standard time.” ’ Under this statutory rule, daylight saving ended on 28 March 1943 but Statutory Rule no. 241 of 1943 extended daylight saving time to March 1944, this time excluding Western Australia by repealing and substituting sub-regulation 2. On 22 August 1944, Federal Cabinet agreed: ‘That unless the Premiers expressed a wish to retain the daylight saving arrangement it should not be reintroduced.’

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