KEY POINTS:
The Government has decided to extend daylight saving another three weeks.
This forum debate has now closed. Here is a selection of your views on the topic.
Graham Ross
As one of those who actively solicited signatures for the petition to extend daylight saving, I obviously am pleased with the Government's decision. However I personally would prefer the 3 week extension to be at the autumn end, rather than spring when the weather here in the Wairarapa is still so often wintry. However, I'll take this extension, so as to have another couple of cricket practices and matches to look forward to. Honest, I do have a life..
Paula
Finally the government is listening to what the public want and actually giving it to us! Now how about the anti-smacking bill and harsher penalties for criminals? Now that you are on a role Helen, keep going!
Stephen Mortimer
Great news from the Cabinet, our kids can play out longer in the back garden away from computer games]and we can have a drink on the deck a little longer. As for the dairy farmers' complaints, not all kiwis are milking cows at 5.00am, the majority of the population will enjoy lighter evenings.
Allan Old
Why not just start the day at sunrise and call it 6am whenever the sun comes up.
Steve Gallaher
Hooray for daylight savings. That's great news. However, I'm really irritated by the uneducated assertion that summer is lasting longer. Summer isn't determined by legislation or government policy. Seasons are determined by the earth's position relative to the sun. Summer occurs precisely from 21 Dec (the longest day of the year) and ends on 21 March (the vernal equinox). Get it right!
Allan
I think we should have gone for two weeks extra at the end of summer, rather than extra time in Spring. In Spring the days are getting longer anyway so the benefit won't be as noticeable. Anyhow, good show, now let's go for year round summertime.
Dave
Would have preferred fine-weather weeks to mid-April than a wet week in September.
Jan
I can't believe it ! Who wants daylight saving in the middle of winter ? September is still cold and wet, what can we do with the extra daylight hour in winter? It's madness. Give us that week extra at the other end, when we can have still have BBQs and enjoy the last of the summer days. Get it right mate!
Rob Pritchard
Clearly politicians are not early risers.
Clive Thompson
27 Weeks should be a minimum. Could even stretch farther.Time in the evening is the bonus.
Billy
What moron in parliament decided to extend daylight saving? Havent they checked the weather the last few years? Summer is late coming now, so why start daylight saving earlier. We really dont have any decent weather till after Xmas. If anything, daylight savings starts about a month too early. Extend the stop time to mid April.
Rohini
It should not have been extended..As it is the day is too long in summer, not enough time to catch on a good nites's sleep...
Matt
The US has already decided that their extension of daylight saving time by three weeks contributed precisely nothing in terms of energy savings. As was witnessed in Australia, the decreased consumption in the evenings was offset by increased consumption in the mornings. So whatever other benefits may be observed in the NZ economy, it is incredibly unlikely that energy savings will be amongst them.
WendyG
I think it's great! It's also great that this government has decided to do something quickly that the majority have asked for! That doesn't happen very often does it?
Joseph Barnett
Idiots! hat is starting Daylight Saving way too early. Didn't they notice what the weather has been like in the last few years at this time? It's been raining and awful. I despair of ever being able to see the sun in the morning again. As for saving energy - that is a lie. We're going to have to turn on the lights in the morning an hour early instead of the evening. According to a study done during the Sydney Olympics in 2000, turning on the lights in the morning uses more energy than turning them on at night. So much for being clean and green and conserving energy. The sooner we get rid of this government, the better.
Mel
Well for some it may be good but for others it may not be that good. Where does one have to cross a line? I reckon they should just stick to one programme and not keep adjusting time. As for many hard working NZers it does not matter a bit, because giving an extra hour or daylight does not mean that they will be able to enjoy it..probably they will be using it to get ahead....just the way they talk about giving tax cuts will encourage savings - not a bit, people will only be spending that money. So, as they say time waits for no one. If you plan your day well, work hard - it will only make you more successful. Not any time adjustments...you will still have 24hrs in a day. I would like to see the productivity curves for non daylight savings months when compared to daylight savings months. The Americans decided to extend daylight savings to cut electricity costs and found that people were spending more power in the morning. The way the weather patterns are everchanging, I don't believe we will get to utilise the benefits.
Colin Baker
Would it have not been better to have changed end of April After Easter Weekend? Well guess 3 weeks is a compromise to the Energy industry who would lose out on the extra revenue if it was longer. Balancing act to be enviromentally good and also not kick the profits of the Electricity generators.
Sara
Just another example of how humans expect to live outside the natural boundaries of nature. We are not supposed to fool about with time so that our bodies and rhythms are forced outside the natural idea of rhythmic rest. Looking around it's so easy to tell why we are screwing up our planet, becoming more stressed and more sick and certain diseases are on the increase. Humanities arrogance knows no bounds.
Steve and Margi
We live in a country that embraces outdoor living. given the weather patterns changing and we are now getting later summers, daylight saving should start labour weekend and end Easter Monday.
Mandy
Nice to see yet again the government asked the nation before making another decision. I think that the length of daylight savings we have already is quite sufficient. I am pretty sure that the week daylight savings ended this year, we were all moaning about the dreadful weather and storms that were lashing the country. Now we will just have more daylight to see miserable weather in Autumn and Spring.
Madinah Watkin
I am disappointed at the change.Why can't our daylight saving time be synchronised with Australia. We will now start three weeks earlier than Australia and at least finish around the same time as them. Many companies in NZ liaise with Australia daily and when our day changes out of sync. with them it adds just one more little difficulty into my day.I am disappointed at the earlier start and very pleased with the later finish.
Cathryn
It would have been disappointing if the NZ Government had chosen not to extend daylight saving considering a country as large as the US can make the change with no major drama.
Paul
Whats the point? It rains all the time over there anyway doesn't it?
In the dark again
My main concern is for the bakers, factory workers, farmers, delivery drivers and other early workers who would find it useful to have daylight as early as possible. What about them? Its all well and good to have a few extra hours of sunlight in the evening but what use will it be when its too cold and wet to enjoy it? Thats how summer seems to be now. So no, I dont think its a good idea at all and I'd rather our early workers & risers enjoy the daylight hours.
Paul Brown
Funny how a government that won't make changes to it's policy when a large proportion of it's constituents want change can alter the clocks due to a minor petition .
Kevin
The dollar has gone through the roof. We have more debt per head than most banana republics. Youth crime is getting out of control. Productivity is falling behind. Our educational system is in chaos. The hospitals are turning people away. So what does this government do? Yes, lets extend daylight saving – yet another example of a government on its last legs.
Scott Radcliffe
Great Decision. Sanity prevails and at last we will move into line with the rest of the world with an extended period of daylight saving. With summer seemingly arriving later and finishing much later all New Zealanders will benefit from this.
Jonno
I personally reckon that when daylight savings has traditionally ended is fine. I am out of bed by 6-6.30 and don't like getting up in the dark - which this change has condemned me to another 2 weeks of. Bad call!
Anton Lipanovich
We are starting in the dark A.M.and I feel that this is stretching the rural people to the limit,as they are in the dark at the extreme end of all seasons. You have to have the power on for longer so its no saving what so ever.As for this summer just concluded you werent able to enjoy the evening time as it was so cold all season to have barbeques outside any way.We have too many politicians just climbing on the bandwagon for whats popular, and substance at all, we are not in Europe were the twilight is till 10 or 11 o clock.
Kirsty
Well I may be in a minority, but I am most certainly not happy about the extension. This year I found myself and many others in our office feeling very tired in the last couple of weeks before it changed over this year as it was dark quite late in the morning. With this extension it will be past 7.30am before the sun comes up. How come a petition with only 42,000 people - 1 per cent of the population - signing it can cause such a widespread change that affects the whole population I don't know.
Graham
Great news - more evening sport -yachting tennis here we come!
Irene
I am all for the extension of day light saving but feel that September is too early to start. Why not Labour weekend until Easter, which really is what people see as summer?
Pat
Should be longer. In Europe it lasts for seven months. Should start first weekend of September in NZ.
Gareth
Excellent, no doubt the cows will adjust. Ive just built a brand new deck and will be able to enjoy the long balmy days of summer for another 3 weeks, I dont support the government on a lot of issues, however I think they have got this one 100 per cent right!
Brad H
People should just get up earlier. You are not gaining anything by pushing the end date back. Why do we even need daylight savings in the first place? We are creatures of the day, not night. Start work, schools or uni earlier say 8am, finish earlier say 3.30 - 4.30 and then you can enjoy the rest of the afternoon. Daylight savings is ironic in the first place. You are not saving anything, if you really want more daylight move to the tropics or rotate between the north and south pole during each of their summers, that way you can have daylight.
Sunny12
Whoo hoo about time!'
John
Even more (hopefully)sunlit evenings. Brilliant.
Ronesh Ram
Awesome choice, this decision will increase productivity of workers in NZ and will benefit the economy.
Kiwi Teetee
Eventually we will have summer all year long. If climate-change has anything to do with it.
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