In the spotlight today
UF Delivers Extra Daylight Savings – 2007-09-28
I love Daylight Saving! My only gripe has been that it is never long enough. Of all the countries that have chosen to use this timing mechanism to improve our waking hours during the summer months, New Zealand had opted for one of the shortest timeframes.
That was until UnitedFuture’s Hon Peter Dunne co-sponsored a petition with a Nelson City Councillor last year that received huge public support. The petition called on the government to extend the number of week’s daylight saving applied to and the government having received the petition and listened to the argument, agreed!
This weekend when you turn your clocks forward an hour for Daylight Savings on Saturday night you can do so knowing that this year it has come a week earlier than previously and that it will continue for an additional two weeks at the end. That is an extra three weeks! Thanks Peter!
Often an issue like Daylight Saving bubbles away below the political radar surfacing every now and then at a community level, slowly building credibility and momentum, and suddenly the timing is right and real progress is made.
Truly experienced MPs like Peter Dunne are expert at reading the mood of both the government and parliament to advance these sorts of issues. They recognise potential ‘tipping points’ and know how to make policy gains. They also understand that new ideas need to percolate for a while to allow public opinion to solidify. Peter again rightly read the tone of parliament last week and manoeuvred cleverly to introduce a Bill to look seriously at our current driving age restrictions. Many folk no longer consider it prudent for 4th formers to be behind the wheel of a car.
Sometimes you have to be prepared to kick-start thinking on a matter knowing full well that it may be several years before the idea gains wider public support, and is able to be advanced. I note with interest that Peter Dunne’s interest in establishing a “New Zealand Day” is slowly gaining momentum even though initially it was received critically.