ARMIDALE politician Adam Marshall, right, has put the debate about daylight saving back on the table and says he’ll take a request to have two months lopped off the summer to his government colleagues.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The Nationals MP will have his neighbouring Nat Kevin Anderson in his corner, with the Tamworth politician yesterday backing the call for daylight saving to be shortened to four months.
Mr Marshall yesterday admitted he might not be onto a winner with the issue, but he was flying the flag for his electorate, where thousands of tablelands and near-border residents regard daylight saving as too long.
“This is an issue the people I represent want addressed. While it’s not in my top two or three burning issues, it’s an old chestnut, but it’s a real burr in the saddle and it grates for many of my constituents,” Mr Marshall said yesterday.
He will take the issue to his Coalition colleagues but admits he’s under no illusions about how it might go when it comes to a showdown over getting daylight saving cut shorter each year.
“It’s a funny issue. People who live in town love it, people who don’t, don’t. But the issue really is, is it too long?” Mr Marshall said.
“It was supposed to be a temporary thing that daylight saving was here for six months, but it has become permanent.
“The haters of daylight saving will continue to hate it, but at least they will have it put on the table to be cut back.”
Mr Marshall will call for the report prepared by former cross-border commissioner Steve Toms for the O’Farrell government to be tabled.
Mr Toms, a former Glen Innes mayor, prepared the report over his three-year contract about three years ago, but it has never seen the light of day.
“Steve Toms prepared an objective, scientific assessment and I think that report should be considered and debated,” Mr Marshall said.
“People have never seen it and the taxpayer paid for it. But it’s time to have the discussion. I’m not trying to raise people’s hopes, but it has split the community.
“People in Tamworth might not care, but it’s an important factor for many of my constituents along the border areas, like Boggabilla, Mungindi, North Star and Yetman. They have incredible problems living in that area and being so close to Queensland, which doesn’t have daylight saving, including with their children and having to get them on buses to school across two time zones.”
The backing by the Marshall/Anderson lobby ignited plenty of social media feedback, just in the space of a couple of hours yesterday, with some pretty mixed reactions.
“There’s a strong chance we won’t be able to change things. It’s been shown time and time again that metropolitan and coastal areas love it, but the issue is about the length of it now,” Mr Marshall said.
Mr Anderson agrees: “It’s an excellent time to push for a reduction in daylight saving,” he posted on his Facebook page yesterday. The Leader asked its Facebook fans what they thought – and the response was like greased lightning. There were 50 responses in the first 15 minutes.
