MEMBER FOR Tweed Geoff Provest is hopeful Daylight Saving in NSW will end a month earlier next year if a Bill introduced in State Parliament today is successful.
βWhile the issue of daylight saving always provokes a passionate debate β some people love it and some want it gone completely β most people agree that the last month is a pain, it simply drags on for too longβ, Mr Provest said.
A Private Members Bill β the Standard Time Amendment (Daylight Saving Period Reduction) Bill β was introduced in the Stateβs Upper House today by Nationals MLC Trevor Khan.
βThe Bill essentially reverses the extension to daylight saving which was pushed through Parliament with little consultation in 2007,β Mr Provest said.
βIβve been working on this legislation with my Nationals colleagues from country NSW, particularly the new Parliamentary Secretary for Northern NSW, Adam Marshall, who has also been a passionate advocate for change.
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 change would take effect for the upcoming Daylight Saving period.
Mr Provest advised that the majority of residents in Tweed donβt have a problem withΒ Daylight Saving as such, but become frustrated with the confusion caused by the different time zone in Queensland for much of the year.
βThe consequences are not only social but are also economic, impacting on business, andΒ disrupting family life in this cross-border community,β Mr Provest said.
βI think itβs a good comprise. Weβll still have five months of daylight saving but the final and most troublesome month will be removed.β
Mr Provest said he expected the Bill to be debated in parliament before the end of the year.