Up next
Where is Clive Myrie?
The clock is ticking on Australia’s divided daylight savings stance after the US Senate passed a bill to permanently give Americans more sunlight.
Starting from November 2023, the Sunshine Protection Act will mean US residents will no longer need to change their clocks twice a year with daylight savings adopted all-year-round if the bill passes the House of Representatives.
Lawmakers argued the move would mean ‘more sunshine and less depression‘ ushering in lower crime rates and increased evening trade, all while helping tackle the obesity epidemic with more time to exercise outdoors.
There are now calls for Australia to also adopt daylight savings permanently however many residents are fiercely opposed.
The clock is ticking on Australia’s divided daylight savings stance after the US Senate passed a bill to permanently give Americans more sunlight (stock image)
While New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia, Tasmania and the ACT all change the clocks at the beginning of October and the start of April, Western Australia, Queensland and the NT refuse to make the change.
The main reason is because while it’s great for nine-to-fivers and kids playing after school, those who are employed in industries like agriculture and clock-on at 5am or earlier find it a major hindrance to work in the dark.
Warm, tropical climates are also not ideal for an extra hour of sunlight as many residents are looking to escape the sun, not spend another hour in it each day.
Debate has raged across Australia about daylight savings since it was permanently introduced for six months of the year in 1971.
READ RELATED: Poignant clip of Michael K. Williams and Anthony Bourdain resurfaces
To this day Aussies have mixed feelings about the time change.
‘Daylight Savings should be all year round!,’ one social media user wrote.
‘Yes definitely,’ another person said. ‘Great for full time workers as there’s more daylight to do things after work.’
US Lawmakers argued the move would mean ‘more sunshine and less depression’ ushering in lower crime rates and increased evening trade, all while helping tackle obesity rates with more time to exercise outdoors (stock image)
Others online blasted the idea of following suit and joining the US.
‘I think we should get rid of it completely, it seems just to increase crime levels (criminals are out for longer hours getting into mischief),’ one social media user said.
‘Definitely NO – For a number of reasons – one of which is the physical safety of children on farms travelling to and from school,’ another wrote.
‘Not only would they end up catching the bus to school in the dark but school would finish and they would be travelling home in the hottest part of the day.
‘In areas where the average maximum temperatures exceed 40 degrees, daylight saving does not work.’
Source: Daily Mail
