Solution for Queensland - A dual Time Zone arrangement

Support for Daylight Saving within Queensland is, and has always been, geographically divided. The majority of residents in South East Queensland are supportive of Daylight Saving, while the majority of Queenslanders residing outside this region, oppose its introduction. In the 1992 Referendum, all 51 electorates that voted in support of the concept, were concentrated in the South East region. The results of numerous surveys undertaken since the Referendum, have also displayed this trend. This includes the Queensland Government commissioned Nielsen Company review undertaken in 2007. The findings of this evaluation indicated that 69% of South East Queensland respondents support the introduction of Daylight Saving, while 59% of those outside this region are against its introduction.

It has been 18 years since the one and only Queensland Referendum on Daylight Saving was held, which gauged support for State-wide Daylight Saving in Queensland; and was defeated. Since the 1992 Referendum, more than 1.1 million voters have been added to the Queensland electoral roll, and are eligible to have a say on the issue of Daylight Saving; just under 950,000 of these additional registered voters, live in the South East region.

In this time, there has been an overwhelming increase in support of Daylight Saving, indicating that the majority of Queenslanders are in favour of its introduction. A number of surveys have highlighted this, including the 2007 Queensland Government commissioned Nielsen review. The findings of the review, illustrated that 55% of State-wide respondents were in favour of Daylight Saving.

Added to this, a very large number of people are affected by the current disruption that is caused by the 'time border' running through the densely populated Gold Coast-Tweed region. Logically, if the 'time border' was shifted to a sparsely populated area, north-west of the urbanised South East Queensland region, the number of people disrupted would be significantly reduced.

It has also been well documented, that not adopting Daylight Saving is a burden on South East Queensland businesses, due to unnecessary travel and extended staff hours, in order to accommodate Daylight Saving business hours in other states.

Given all of this information, it is easy to understand why the issue of Daylight Saving within Queensland needs to be revisited, and that the most logical solution to resolve this issue, is to introduce a dual time zone. A dual time zone would assist businesses in the South East region, and would also satisfy the majority of ALL of Queensland's residents, not just the minority, as is currently the case.

The dual time zone border proposed by Daylight Saving for South East Queensland Party includes the majority of the population of Queensland and is aligned to a number of local council boundaries, passing through sparsely populated areas, and is outlined below.


click map to enlarge


About 130 years ago, Australia was divided into Eastern Standard Time, Central Standard Time and Western Standard Time, according to an international convention on time zones. Adopting a dual time zone will have no detrimental effect on the State Government's ability to govern effectively, nor will these circumstances detract on Queensland's identity as a state. Dual time zones have successfully operated within a number of individual states and provinces internationally for some time, including Canada and the U.S.A.

Queensland is Australia's most decentralised State, comprising of a number of business hubs outside the South East region. These regional business hubs support the surrounding communities, with the provision of Government operations and other essential services. Whilst a dual time zone may split the State on a time of the clock basis, Queensland would still be 'one' State and will always offer a sense of pride and unity. A dual time zone merely reflects the diverse nature and geographical reality of Queensland.

How was the South East Queensland Daylight Saving Time Zone determined?

The results of the 1992 Referendum on Daylight Saving in Queensland, illustrate a definite trend and indicate that the main areas of support for Daylight Saving included Brisbane, the Gold Coast, and the Sunshine Coast. The Referendum results also demonstrated that support for Daylight Saving steadily decreased immediately outside the abovementioned regions. The Far North and Far West regions of Queensland displayed a complete lack of backing for its introduction.

Over the last few years, there have been a number of other survey results illustrating similar geographic trends. However, since the 1992 Referendum, there has been an overwhelming increase in support of Daylight Saving, indicating that the majority of Queenslanders are in favour of its introduction. This support is still geographically divided, with the majority of residents in South East Queensland being supportive of Daylight Saving, while the majority of Queenslanders residing outside this region, oppose its introduction. This more positive view toward Daylight Saving can be attributed to changes in individual lifestyles, altered business priorities, along with a higher population concentration within the South East Queensland region.

Some districts which are on the outer areas of the South East region, and have previously shown limited support for Daylight Saving, may also now have a general preference to be included within a Daylight Saving time zone, due to their close proximity to the metropolitan area of South East Queensland.

Another consideration, is the amount of people who are affected by the disruption of a 'time border'. With this border currently running through the densely populated Gold Coast-Tweed region, a very large number of people are directly affected. Logically, if the 'time border' was shifted to a sparsely populated area, north-west of the urbanised South East Queensland region, the number of people disrupted would be significantly reduced.

All of these factors were taken into account when determining where the most appropriate northern and western borders for the Daylight Saving zone would be. Other determining factors were to ensure inclusion of major transportation routes for the South East and to ensure that the delivery of local essential services would be maintained without disruption.

Therefore, the Daylight Saving for South East Queensland Party has proposed a time zone that is formed by the inclusion of 15 local council areas, within the South East region. Please refer to the map above. Click here to view a list of all the local council areas to be included within the proposed Daylight Saving for South East Queensland time zone.

Click here to view all the State Electoral Districts within the proposed Daylight Saving for South East Queensland time zone.