More in favour of daylight saving in North Queensland

Daily Mercury

MACKAY people were once against daylight saving but it appears times may be changing – with a growing number of southerners swarming to the area views are now more mixed.

Daily Mercury readers and website contributors have shone a light on their feelings on Anna Bligh’s referendum on two time zones for Queensland.

Some say they could use the extra daylight hours after work to walk the dog or play with the kids while some say we are too close to the equator or it has been tried and won’t work again or that it should be implemented in the winter to give Queenslanders equal daylight all year round.

Many even had mixed feelings about splitting the state into two time zones.

On the Daily Mercury website yesterday ‘Joblo’ from Mackay summed up what many people have been thinking.

“Daylight saving might not be an important issue in Queensland as it is in the southern states: Nevertheless in the interest of uniformity for business and productivity with an extra hour of daylight I think we should have it. We might even get to like it! I could not think of a much dumber suggestion than having two time zones in Queensland...”

Owner of Tick-Tock Jewellers Yvonne Nurnberger said she was definitely against daylight savings.

“I hate the thought of it, it’s just ludicrous,” she said.

“It didn’t work last time so I cannot see splitting the state in half will make it work. Where are they going to draw the line?”

Meanwhile Queensland senator Barnaby Joyce said the daylight saving proposal for the south-east corner of Queensland was disrespectful to the rest of the state.

“For two hours a day you’re out of connection with your state capital – is that really how they deal with you? Is that the sort of respect you can now expect from a Labor Government?” he said. Residents have a month to tell the government what they think on an online forum. To have your say visit: http://www.thepremier.qld.gov.au/