Could Australia DITCH daylight saving? Premier is dragged into row with farmers demanding clocks stop being put forward an hour for the summer
The New South Wales Premier has ignored calls from farmers to shorten daylight saving time to summer, saying the current length of daylight saving time is needed to encourage active lifestyles.
NSW Farmers members will vote at a state conference later in July on whether to take an official position on reversing the practice of moving clocks forward one hour between October and April.
Supporters of daylight saving time say it helps save electricity, has economic benefits and provides more time for physical activity. Opponents, however, say it disrupts the internal body clock and makes life in rural areas more difficult because the mornings are darker.
Mr Minns said NSW would not change its official position and cited the need to promote healthy lifestyles.
“I understand that there are different opinions, especially in regional communities, about daylight saving time, but it is an important measure for the state,” he told reporters on Friday.
“It means you spend more time outside when the sun is shining, especially in the summer. And that’s a big deal, especially when we’re fighting obesity and diabetes in the community.”
Daylight saving time also meant children were “off their devices and getting outside”, the premier said from the site of a planned hospital on the state’s south coast.
“Those extra hours of sunlight and activity in the summer are critical to an active community,” he said.
The New South Wales Premier has rejected calls from farmers to move daylight saving time back to summer, arguing the current length of daylight saving time is needed to encourage active lifestyles (file photo)
NSW Farmers board member Oscar Pearse, from Moree in the state’s far north, said there was evidence Daylight Saving Time was affecting people’s health.
“There is real scientific evidence that circadian rhythm disruptions and the unnatural process of waking up regularly in the dark can have consequences,” he told Sydney radio station 2GB.
Daylight saving time is currently in use in every state except Queensland and Western Australia. The Northern Territory has yet to implement the measure.
It has existed in NSW since 1971.