Tweed tackles daylight saving stand-off

Adam Irwin, owner of Cafe Mokha in Byron Bay, supports a plan from Tweed mayor Warren Polglase for a single summer time zone covering the entire eastern seaboard of Australia.

Jay Cronan

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TWEED mayor Warren Polglase wants the Federal Government to step in and end the 30-year daylight saving stand-off by legislating one uniform time - an Eastern Summer Time zone to be set from Cooktown to Melbourne.

Following decades of argument between Queensland and NSW residents, politicians and the business, tourism and rural sectors, Cr Polglase wants an American-style three time zone system introduced, with the nation broken into Eastern, Central and Western time zones during summer.

Acknowledging agreement was never likely, particularly in remote rural regions, Cr Polglase said western Queensland and NSW residents who strongly opposed daylight saving could go on Central time, with the populous eastern seaboard with its business and tourism-driven economies unified under one time.

With this week's start of daylight saving in New South Wales creating another summer of headaches for Tweed, Byron and Gold Coast residents, who work and do business on both sides of the border and are serviced by a major airport operating on the later Queensland time, Cr Polglase announced his move to lobby the Federal Government to bring about a final resolution of the stalemate.

“What a great idea,” Byron Bay businessman Adam Irwin said.

“It creates a lot of confusion for people and we are constantly having conversations with people about the time differences, whether it is Queensland or NSW time,” the Cafe Mokha owner said.

“The amount of plane flights people miss because of the confusion must be enormous.

“So to be on the same page with our time would save a lot of money and inconvenience. I get confused and I live here.”