The U.S. House has passed a bill that would make daylight saving time permanent, ending the twice-yearly clock change for good.
The Sunshine Protection Act passed 308–117 earlier this week. It will now go to the Senate and, if approved, to U.S. President Donald Trump to be signed into law.
Trump has long pushed for the change, calling the current system “inconvenient” and “very costly”.
Why do we shift the clocks in the first place, and could Australia ever make daylight saving permanent too?
Daylight saving
Daylight saving time doesn’t literally “save” daylight. Instead, clocks are moved forward by one hour so there is more sunlight in the evening and less in the morning during the warmer months.
The amount of daylight changes throughout the year because Earth is tilted on its axis as it orbits the sun.
That means Australia generally experiences longer days in summer and shorter days in winter.
People in parts of Australia “lose” an hour every October when clocks move forward for daylight saving. About six months later, the clocks move back and we regain it.
Without the April change, winter sunrises would be much later. In Adelaide, for example, the sun could rise at about 8.30am in June.
But without daylight saving, the sun would rise and set an hour earlier in summer.
That already happens in Queensland, which does not observe daylight saving. Along parts of its east coast, the sun can rise before 5am and set before 7pm in summer.
History
Daylight saving isn’t new, and its wartime adoption wasn’t primarily about enjoying more sunshine. It was about saving energy.
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European countries introduced it during World War I to reduce the fuel used for lighting. Australia and the U.S. followed, later bringing it back during World War II before abandoning it in peacetime.
Tasmania reintroduced daylight saving in 1967 during a severe drought that threatened its hydroelectricity supplies. NSW, Victoria, South Australia, Queensland and the ACT followed in 1971, although Queensland later dropped it.
U.S. bill
The Sunshine Protection Act would end the twice-yearly clock change and make daylight saving time permanent across most of the U.S.
It passed the House 308–117 and will now go to the Senate. Places that already observe permanent standard time, including Hawai’i and most of Arizona, could continue doing so.
Trump backed the bill before the vote, saying: “It’s time that people can stop worrying about the ‘Clock,’ not to mention all of the work and money that is spent on this ridiculous, twice yearly production.”
Nineteen states have already passed laws or resolutions supporting permanent daylight saving time if federal rules change. However, not everyone agrees on which time should become permanent.
A competing proposal, the Sunshine for Our Kids Act, would make standard time the default while allowing states to choose daylight saving instead. Many sleep and medical experts support permanent standard time because morning light aligns with the body’s natural clock.
The U.S. tried permanent daylight saving in 1974, but backlash over children travelling to school in the dark led Congress to end it within a year.
Australia
Daylight saving isn’t observed nationally. VIC, NSW, SA, Tasmania and the ACT use it, while QLD, WA and the NT do not.
WA voters have rejected daylight saving in four referendums.
The debate often reflects the city-regional divide. Coastal city dwellers want the extra evening sun, while rural communities would rather not start work in the dark.
No state or territory government has announced any plans to change the current system.
