The New South Wales Premier has rejected calls from farmers to cut daylight saving time into the summer, arguing its current length is necessary to encourage active lifestyles.
NSW Farmers members will vote at a state conference in late July on whether to take an official position on delaying the practice of moving clocks forward by one hour between October and April.
Proponents of daylight saving time say it saves electricity, has economic advantages and allows more time for physical activity, but opponents say it disrupts people’s internal biological clocks and makes rural life more difficult because of darker mornings.
Mr Minns said NSW would not change its official position, citing the need to encourage healthy lifestyles.
“I understand there are different views, particularly in regional communities, on the time change, but it is an important measure for the state,” he told reporters on Friday.
“It means you have more time outdoors when the sun is out, especially in the summer, and that’s not a trivial thing, especially when we’re fighting obesity, we’re fighting diabetes in the community.”
Daylight saving time also helped get children “off their electronic devices and into the fresh air,” the premier said from the site of a planned hospital on the state’s south coast.
“Those extra hours of sunlight and activity in the summer are pretty crucial to an active community,” he said.
The New South Wales Premier has rejected calls from farmers to reduce daylight saving time until summer, arguing its current length is necessary to encourage active lifestyles (file image)
NSW Farmers board member Oscar Pearse from Moree in the state’s far north said there was evidence the time change was affecting people’s health.
“There is real scientific evidence that disruptions to the circadian rhythm and the unnatural process of regularly getting up in the dark can have an impact,” he told Sydney radio 2GB.
Daylight saving time is currently used in all states except Queensland and Western Australia. The Northern Territory has not yet adopted the measure.
It has been in force in New South Wales since 1971.
