2009 Western Australian daylight saving referendum

none December 2021 January 2012 Western Australian Daylight Saving referendum, 2009 Are you in favour of daylight saving being introduced in Western Australia by standard time in the State being advanced one hour from the last Sunday in October 2009 until the last Sunday in March 2010 and in similar fashion for each following year? 2009 05 16 y Western Australia 519,899 624,304 4,650 1,341,554 The 2009 Western Australian daylight saving referendum was held on 16 May 2009 in the Australian state of Western Australia to decide if daylight saving time should be adopted. It was the fourth such proposal which had been put to Western Australian voters and followed a three-year trial period. The referendum resulted in the proposal being rejected, with 54.56% voting against the proposal. As of 2026, this is the most recent Western Australian state referendum. Background Various states and territories in Australia adopted daylight saving time between 1968 and 1971, but Queensland, the Northern Territory and Western Australia did not do so.http://www.smh.com.au/news/articles/2006/08/22/1156012541811.html Timely shift unlikely to see the light of day Macey Richard 4 March 2019 23 August 2006 The Sydney Morning Herald In Western Australia, three referendums were held in 1975, 1984 and 1992 on the issue, with daylight saving being rejected each time.http://www.waec.wa.gov.au/elections/state_referendums/referendum_details/ Referendum Details Western Australian Electoral Commission 29 January 2009 17 December 2009 https://web.archive.org/web/20091013064636/http://www.waec.wa.gov.au/elections/state_referendums/referendum_details/ 13 October 2009 dead http://news.smh.com.au/breaking-news-national/wa-rejects-daylight-saving-after-vote-20090516-b6qp.html WA rejects daylight saving after vote 10 December 2009 16 May 2009 The Sydney Morning Herald On 25 October 2006, two members of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly, former Labor minister turned independent member John D'Orazio and Liberal leader Matt Birney, introduced a private members' bill for a three-year trial of daylight saving to begin in December 2006.Legislative Assembly: Wednesday, 25 October 2006 http://www.parliament.wa.gov.au/Hansard/hansard.nsf/0/E50CD981240F0D6BC825761800195256/$file/A37%20S1%2020061025%20All.pdf Western Australian Legislative Assembly 25 October 2006 7608, 7646–7652 http://www.theaustralian.com.au/daylight-savings-bill-introduced-today/story-e6frfkxi-1111112407937 Daylight savings Bill introduced today 7 December 2009 24 October 2006 The AustralianOctober 2026 medicmedic The Labor government of Western Australia backed the trial and both main parties agreed to hold a free vote on the issue. http://www.news.com.au/adelaidenow/story/0,22606,20637822-5005962,00.html Parties back WA daylight saving trial 7 December 2009 24 October 2006 The Advertiser October 2026 medicmedic Farming groups quickly came out against the move, along with the mining lobby, but the move was backed by business groups. https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/nation/west-to-clock-on-for-daylight-saving-after-carpenter-backs-trial/news-story/367d11f1cfb92683d91d71f1e907c611 West to clock on for daylight saving after Carpenter backs trial 7 December 2009 25 October 2006 The Australian Amanda subscription O'Brien The bill was approved by the lower house 37–14 http://www.news.com.au/perthnow/story/0,21598,20700024-2761,00.html Daylight saving win gets closer 7 December 2009 4 November 2006 Sunday Times Joe SpagnoloOctober 2026 medicmedic and then by the upper house 21–10, enabling the trial to start from 3 December. http://www.news.com.au/perthnow/story/0,21598,20795690-2761,00.html December 3 for daylight saving 7 December 2009 21 December 2006 Sunday Times Joe SpagnoloOctober 2026 medicmedic During 2007 there was growing opposition to daylight saving time with some in the National Party calling for people to ignore the trial. http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2007/08/07/1998248.htm https://web.archive.org/web/20071024151347/http://abc.net.au/news/stories/2007/08/07/1998248.htm dead 24 October 2007 National Party: Ignore daylight saving 8 December 2009 7 August 2007 ABC News Online In October 2007 the Liberal Party proposed a bill to bring the referendum forward to early 2008 because of the backlash against daylight saving, http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2007/10/24/2068368.htm https://web.archive.org/web/20071030071726/http://abc.net.au/news/stories/2007/10/24/2068368.htm dead 30 October 2007 Daylight saving has Libs concerned about voter backlash: Nationals 8 December 2009 24 October 2007 ABC News Online and a petition was signed by 66,000 people supporting holding the referendum in 2008.https://www.news.com.au/news/we-want-daylight-saving/news-story/4c17853828d62c019b2f35dbc8bde0bb WA business community backs daylight saving Turnor Robyn 4 March 2019 21 October 2009 PerthNow 6 March 2019 https://web.archive.org/web/20190306043239/https://www.news.com.au/news/we-want-daylight-saving/news-story/4c17853828d62c019b2f35dbc8bde0bb dead However this was not successful and the referendum was called for 16 May 2009.https://www.news.com.au/news/vote-set-for-daylight-saving/news-story/abf1861300e48570688e00ad0b53e102 WA to vote on daylight saving in May 4 March 2019 21 October 2009 news.com.au 6 March 2019 https://web.archive.org/web/20190306043205/https://www.news.com.au/news/vote-set-for-daylight-saving/news-story/abf1861300e48570688e00ad0b53e102 dead Question The question voted on in the referendum was: Are you in favour of daylight saving being introduced in Western Australia by standard time in the State being advanced one hour from the last Sunday in October 2009 until the last Sunday in March 2010 and in similar fashion for each following year?http://www.waec.wa.gov.au/elections/state_referendums/2009_Daylight_Saving_Referendum/ 2009 Daylight Saving Referendum Western Australian Electoral Commission 10 June 2009 10 December 2009 https://web.archive.org/web/20091030023600/http://www.waec.wa.gov.au/elections/state_referendums/2009_Daylight_Saving_Referendum/ 30 October 2009 dead Campaign Business groups were among the main supporters of daylight saving time and financed the 'yes' campaign. http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/05/16/2572628.htm https://web.archive.org/web/20090518091555/http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/05/16/2572628.htm dead 18 May 2009 WA voters reject daylight saving 8 December 2009 16 May 2009 ABC News Online The 'yes' campaign argued that it would make dealing with businesses from the east of Australia easier during the summer as it would reduce the time difference. They also put the case that with daylight saving time, families would be able to spend more time together outdoors after work while it was still light. http://www.waec.wa.gov.au/elections/state_referendums/2009_Daylight_Saving_Referendum/referendum_arguments.php 2009 Daylight Saving Referendum Arguments 8 December 2009 Western Australian Electoral Commission https://web.archive.org/web/20090710214311/http://www.waec.wa.gov.au/elections/state_referendums/2009_Daylight_Saving_Referendum/referendum_arguments.php 10 July 2009 dead dmy-all Opposition was strongest in rural areas of Western Australia with farmers arguing that it caused problems for them. Opponents argued that daylight saving led to more deaths on the roads and that it was inconvenient for families.http://bigpondnews.com/articles/TopStories/2009/05/16/Daylight_saving_referendum_in_WA_332595.html Daylight saving referendum in WA 8 December 2009 16 May 2009 BigPond News dead https://web.archive.org/web/20090519190721/http://bigpondnews.com/articles/TopStories/2009/05/16/Daylight_saving_referendum_in_WA_332595.html 19 May 2009 With daylight saving they also said that electricity consumption was increased, damaging the environment. Campaigning was intense during the week before the poll. On 11 May, the WA Farmers Federation claimed the Electoral Commission was biased as, while voters were instructed to write the words "Yes" or "No" in the box, a tick would be accepted as a yes, while a cross would be marked as an invalid vote.http://www.perthnow.com.au/news/furore-over-referendum-tick/story-0-1225711569398 https://archive.today/20120418222253/http://www.perthnow.com.au/news/furore-over-referendum-tick/story-0-1225711569398 dead 18 April 2012 Daylight mockery: tick means Yes, cross means Invalid Vote PerthNow (Sunday Times) 11 May 2009 10 December 2009 On 13 May, Kalgoorlie independent MP John Bowler, who was a daylight saving supporter, pledged that if the referendum was passed, he would move a private member's bill to exclude March from the period. However, supporters labelled this a stunt, as there was no guarantee the bill would pass Parliament.http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/05/14/2570462.htm https://web.archive.org/web/20101206233013/http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/05/14/2570462.htm dead 6 December 2010 Daylight saving should end in February: Bowler ABC News Online 14 May 2009 10 December 2009http://www.watoday.com.au/wa-news/shorten-daylight-saving-bowler-20090514-b3x2.html Shorten daylight saving: Bowler WAtoday 14 May 2009 19 December 2009 Opinion polls gave no clear indication as to the eventual result. While The West Australian tipped a 53% 'no' vote, The Sunday Times, which conducted an online poll via its PerthNow portal, tipped a 53% 'yes' vote. http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/breaking-news/sun-sets-on-daylight-saving-debate/story-e6frf7jx-1225712963988 Sun sets on Western Australia's daylight saving debate 8 December 2009 16 May 2009 Herald Sunhttp://www.perthnow.com.au/news/daylight-saving-poll-tips-yes/story-0-1225712015789 https://archive.today/20120418222305/http://www.perthnow.com.au/news/daylight-saving-poll-tips-yes/story-0-1225712015789 dead 18 April 2012 PerthNow poll tips Yes vote as historic referendum nears PerthNow (Sunday Times) 13 May 2009 10 December 2009 The Premier of Western Australia Colin Barnett did not declare which way he would vote until the day of the referendum, when he said that he had voted yes, but that a no vote was the most likely outcome of the referendum. Results The referendum proposition was rejected, with 54.56% voting no, as against 45.44% who voted yes.http://www.abc.net.au/elections/wa/2009/daylightsaving/results-tables.htm 2009 WA Daylight Saving Referendum Green Antony Antony Green ABC 11 June 2009 10 December 2009 It was compulsory to vote at the referendum, and 1,148,853 voters, representing 85.64% of enrolled voters, turned out to cast a vote. Non-voters faced a fine of $20 to $50. http://www.watoday.com.au/wa-news/daylight-saving-nets-622000-in-fines-20090828-f1zu.html Daylight saving nets $622,000 in fines 8 December 2009 28 August 2009 WAtoday The 'no' vote was strongest in regional and rural areas as well as the outer suburbs of Perth. http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/national/daylight-saving-dead-and-buried-in-wa-20090517-b6xs.html Daylight saving 'dead and buried' in WA 8 December 2009 17 May 2009 Brisbane Times The 'no' vote had a majority in 35 of the state's 59 electorates, including all of the non-metropolitan electorates ranging from 85.36% in Wagin to 55.91% in Birney's former electorate of Kalgoorlie, but also including 18 of metropolitan Perth's 42 electorates. The 'yes' vote achieved a majority in 24 electorates, all but two of which were in the North Metropolitan and South Metropolitan regions. The electorates of Ocean Reef (63.01%), Perth (59.96%), Joondalup (59.20%), Hillarys (58.33%) and Kingsley (56.66%) recorded the highest 'yes' votes. Following the fourth rejection of daylight saving time in a referendum the issue was described as being dead for a generation, with Premier Colin Barnett saying that "it should not be considered for another 20 years."http://www.mediastatements.wa.gov.au/Pages/WACabinetMinistersSearch.aspx?ItemId=131903&minister=Barnett&admin=Barnett&page=2 Media response – Daylight Saving Referendum result (Interview with Western Suburbs Weekly) Colin Barnett Colin Barnett Government of Western Australia 18 May 2009 10 December 2009 https://web.archive.org/web/20120226091314/http://www.mediastatements.wa.gov.au/Pages/WACabinetMinistersSearch.aspx?ItemId=131903&minister=Barnett&admin=Barnett&page=2 26 February 2012 dead ElectorateTurnoutForAgainst1,341,5541,148,853 (85.64%)519,899 (45.44%)624,304 (54.56%)Source: Western Australian Electoral Commission References 30em External links 2009 Daylight Saving Referendum Arguments Results by district 2009 Category:2009 elections in Australia Category:2009 referendums Category:Daylight saving time in Australia Category:2000s in Western Australia Category:2009 in Australian law Category:May 2009 in Australia