Daylight saving time, DST, more commonly called daylight savings has been part of Australia since at least 1971 except for Queensland, the Northern Territory, and Western Australia. However, this should change. All of Australia should partake in daylight savings. Good morning/afternoon Ms. Rae and class. By only having selected states or areas participating in daylight savings, it puts the rest of Australia out of sync. Daylight savings have many beneficial features that would help that outweigh the negative short-term transitional effects. Therefore, the government should implement daylight savings in all of Australia from October to April to better absorb the benefits of extra daylight.
In 1895, an entomologist from New Zealand, George Hudson first proposed the modern concept of a two-hour time shift in the summer, so he could have more after-work hours of sunshine to go insect hunting. Daylight saving time was first utilized in World War I as a way to conserve fuel for the war effort by minimizing the use of electricity, more specifically lights. It is now continued in Tasmania, Victoria, South Australia, New South Wales, and the Australian Capital Territory as a way to better utilize daylight in the evenings and conserve energy while Queensland, the Northern Territory, and Western Australia resume with the standard time. Despite this referendum being denied numerous times in the past, groups from south-east Queensland have been long advocating for change, particularly the Gold Coast Chamber of Commerce and Courier Mail. Furthermore, in 2018, a poll from Courier Mail showed that the majority of Queenslanders want daylight savings introduced. However, the minority of Queenslanders who live near warmer areas have concerns about the parching heat.
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Everything has positives and negatives, and this is no different with daylight savings. According to some studies, daylight savings can produce an increased occurrence of a few health issues. However, this mainly occurs in the first week of the transition to and from daylight savings. For example, “Studies have shown that disruptions in a person’s internal body clock, increase the risk of ischemic stroke,” said study author Dr. Jori Ruuskanen, in a statement from the American Academy of Neurology. However, another study by Lawrence Jin and Nicolas R. from Cornell University comprehensively looks at the health effects of DST. Using 3.4 million BRFSS respondents from the US and 160 million hospital admissions from Germany over a decade, not much evidence was found that population health significantly decreases when daylight savings starts. There are also the concerns of parents for their children who live in hotter climates, as some children will have to walk home in the peak of the sun in the afternoon. As previously mentioned, there are benefits to daylight savings. Having daylight savings, it allows us to be more effective and proactive with the extra daylight at night. It also allows us to enjoy the less harsh UV rays later in the day. It would help us save energy, like the usage of artificial light in the evenings, and therefore could reduce the electricity bill. DST could also help better ensure our safety. Daylight savings lowers the incidence of traffic accidents. Driving home in the evenings with DST is safer because there is still light around for you to see versus darkness, where you can hardly see anything. The crime rate drops during daylight savings. At the beginning of DST, robbery rates dropped an average of 7 percent for the entire day, and during the evening hour with the extra sunlight, it fell a much larger 27 percent. DST would also offer recreational and economic benefits for the country. Particularly for the hospitality industry and potentially employment and tourism. For almost half a year, the extra hour of sunlight in the evening would have a large impact on shops, restaurants, café, and bars as it provides more opportunity for tourists to spend more money and explore. An economist, Gene Tunny says, '(DST) is bound to generate several hundred million dollars per annum to the economy.' Therefore, it now clearly be seen how the more long-term benefits outweigh the short-term transition ramifications.
Daylight saving time would be hugely beneficial for Australia. Right now, with only some states having DST, it puts the rest of Australia out of sync geographically. So, if the whole country adopted DST, it would put the whole country in sync and make it easier to travel between the states. It would allow us to be more proactive in the evenings as we would get to do more things with the extra hour of daylight. It would also provide a huge economic boost for hospitality, retail, and the tourism industry. Not to mention, it helps ensure the safety of citizens. Not only does it lower the amount of traffic accidents, but it also decreases the chance of robbery, both could save millions of dollars a year. Overall, I believe that if Australia installed daylight savings in every state, it would make our society a more favorable one.
In conclusion, daylight savings should be implemented throughout all of Australia. Australia would benefit hugely from the extra hour of sunlight in the evenings. It would provide a higher level of safety for its citizens, boost the economy, and allow us to be more proactive in the evenings. Evidently, it can now clearly be seen that installing daylight saving time for all of Australia would help advance our society to a more modern and productive era.
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