Wednesday, 13 April 2016
DAYLIGHT saving in NSW will end a month earlier next year if Northern Tablelands MP Adam Marshall gets his way.
Mr Marshall has confirmed that a Private Members Bill will be introduced in the State’s Upper House when Parliament resumes for the winter session next month.
If successful, the legislation will bring the end of daylight saving forward one month, from the first Sunday in April to the first Sunday in March each year.
“The Bill will essentially reverse the extension to daylight saving which was pushed through the parliament without a mandate in 2007,” Mr Marshall said.
“I’ve been working on this with my colleagues from country NSW, who are also being lobbied by their communities for this change.
“While the issue of daylight saving always provokes a passionate debate – some people love it and some want it gone completely – most people agree that the last month is a pain, it simply drags on for too long.
“As I move around the electorate I am often asked about this issue and the further west and north I go the more intense the feeling is.”
Many Northern Tablelands communities are situated along or very near the Queensland border and Mr Marshall said there was considerable angst about the length of daylight saving.
“For people on or near the border it’s confusing and difficult to live, work and do business across two different time zones,” he said.
“While this Bill won’t satisfy everyone involved in the daylight saving debate, it will remove the final month of daylight saving and alleviate a lot of the problems.
“I think it’s a good comprise. We’ll still have five months of daylight saving but the final and most troublesome month will be removed.”