The process has become a contentious topic over the past decade with many calling for its abolition.
People have been questioning why we’re willing to put ourselves through it every year, particularly amid growing evidence that there are social and economic benefits to locking in permanent summer hours.
In mid-March last year, the United States Senate passed a bill that made daylight saving time permanent off the back of proponents long arguing that it would give kids more time outdoors during winter and would also help to combat seasonal depression.
In 2021, the small Fiordland tourist town of Te Anau opted out of changing the clocks back.
Local campaigner Louis Houlbrook has also been calling for some time to bring an end to the time yoyo that has its roots in some curious historical mythology.
A brief history of daylight saving
The idea of daylight saving time first came after American inventor and writer Benjamin Franklin published a satirical article suggesting it was a method to make candles last longer.
By 1908, Port Arthur in Canada would become the first place in the world to start using daylight saving.
In 1868, New Zealand officially set a national standard time — called New Zealand Mean Time — at 11 hours and 30 minutes ahead of Greenwich Mean Time (GMT).
However, the country’s relationship with it has even stranger origins.
In 1895, entomologist George Hudson presented the idea to the Wellington Philosophical Society. His motivation? To have more time after his work shift to collect bugs in the summer months.
New Zealand would start using daylight saving time in 1927, and the idea was later picked up around the world. (The modern iteration was made official in 1974/5).
Daylight saving time is one hour ahead of New Zealand standard time.
The dates and time differences were changed several times over the following years. The current times have been fixed since 2007 and are governed by two pieces of legislation.
Last year, on the Front Page podcast, psychotherapist Kyle MacDonald and Newstalk ZB chief political reporter Jason Walls joined Damien Venuto for a look at the rising rebellion against the annual assault on our circadian rhythms.