The time of year when mass confusion reigns is now upon us: yes, Daylight Saving time is here.
What should actually be pretty simple (ah, just change the clocks by an hour) is in reality harder than complex algebra. And don’t get us started on navigating more than one time zone. (So… my 9am meeting Sydney time is at 8am on the Gold Coast, or is it 10am? Arghhhhh! And what time is it in Perth? Okay, I’ve definitely missed it.)
And to make matters worse, ever since that pesky Daylight Saving referendum of 1992 (referenDUMB, amirite?) the Gold Coast, along with the rest of the state, has been mercilessly shackled to the conventions of AEST while the other regions and cities enjoy maximising their surplus sunlight with extra cocktails and exercise or both.
But after 23 years of no Daylight Saving, during which we’ve had to confront our fear of the dark, we think it’s high time the Gold Coast made the switch. Pay attention Premier Palaszczuk, here are 42 reasons why the Gold Coast NEEDS Daylight Saving and needs it now:
1. The sentence “I’ll wake you at the crack of dawn” would lose some of its ominous undertones.
2. Going to bed at night would feel like taking a nap at midday.
3. We’d get with the program, and that’s never a bad thing.
4. As one of the few things that the LNP, the Greens, and Labor can agree on there might actually be some political harmony.
5. North Queensland would still get to do its thing while Gold Coast businesses could remain synched with their interstate branches and affiliates.
6. We’d all have a legitimate excuse to buy designer sunglasses and wear them all the time…
7. …which would in turn save us the effort of doing eye make up in the morning.
8. It’d help boost our cred with the young peeps.
9. Shorts would always be appropriate. Even at dinner.
10. The abundance of vitamin D would annihilate the very real danger of developing rickets.
11. The extended daylight would help foster a deeper appreciation of winter.
12. “I’ll call you at 4:30” would actually mean 4:30.
13. Texts from Melbourne wouldn’t wake us up in the morning.
14. It would rekindle all the fond memories of the Gold Coast’s long summer days in the early 90s.
15. Workers on the night shift would actually get to see the sun.
16. Shareholders of curtain and blind companies would make a killing.
17. With a delayed twilight, power lunches would last forever.
18. Malcolm wouldn’t groan quite so loudly whenever he had to arrange a teleconference with Clive.
19. More sunlight would mean less lamps and lower power bills.
20. The majestic sunset would happen when everyone would actually be able to enjoy it.
21. All the extra sunshine would make summer holidays seem twice as long.
22. We could finally stop wearing those night vision goggles.
23. There’d be better visibility in bars thus less regret the morning after.
24. There’d be fewer cars on the road when it gets dark which decreases the chances of collision.
25. All the cool coastal towns and cities on the eastern seaboard have daylight saving. Do it to be cool. You want to be cool, don’t you?
26. We’d be able to walk home from work without the fear of nocturnal beasties stealing the shoes off our feet with their tiny claws.
27. We could all take up an extreme sport in the evenings.
28. Our local clinics would no longer overflow with patients who viciously stubbed their toes searching for the light switch.
29. It would make our Alaskan house guests feel right at home.
30. Leaving chores like pruning or hanging the washing to the last minute would become totally acceptable.
31. The rate of vampire-related deaths would plummet.
32. “Evening tan” would be a thing.
33. Getting lost on a bush hike wouldn’t start getting scary until 7pm.
34. No one would be bothered if there was a blackout.
35. The joy of marvelling at your neighbours Christmas lights would be reserved for midnight strolls.
36. People would finally stop laughing at us.
37. You could stay late at work and still get home with time to mow the lawn.
38. The glare on our TV screens would encourage families to watch less and talk more.
39. We’d all get an extra hour’s sleep-in when it came time to set the clocks back.
40. We’d finally use up all the sunscreen in the bulk 5L pump action tub we got on sale at Aldi.
41. There would be no awkward pause as we tried to calculate the time difference.
42. We can divert our brain cells toward something more rewarding. Like seeking out new stuff on Netflix.
This article previously appeared on our sister site, The Urban List.
Photo Credit: Brooke Darling for Metropolist