In spring,
we change our clocks forward one hour to New Zealand Daylight Time (NZDT). In autumn, we change our clocks back one hour to New Zealand Standard Time (NZST).
It’s a decades-old tradition that’s sparked much debate and many calls for its abolition.
In 2021, the small Fiordland tourist town of Te Anau decided enough was enough and opted out of changing the clocks back.
People have been questioning why we’re willing to put ourselves through it every year, particularly amid growing evidence that there are social and economic benefits to locking in permanent summer hours.
One of the most notable effects of DST is its impact on circadian rhythms - the body’s internal clock, which regulates sleep-wake cycles.
Data suggests shifting the clocks forward causes lost sleep and reduced sleep quality in the following days and even weeks. This can be associated with delayed reaction times, lapses in vigilance, and overall increased sleepiness.
Take Back The Clocks is a small group lobbying for the abolition of daylight savings through legislative change.
Spokesperson Connor Molloy told The Front Page there are plenty of reasons to stick with one time.
“People always end up missing appointments or showing up to work or school late. People doing international business struggle when they’re working across multiple time zones, especially when both time zones have daylight savings,” he said.
According to one study, the extra hour of daylight also reduces road crashes and saves around $1.2 billion per year in the US.
Another study showed the springtime change costs the US economy $433 million due to an increase in workplace injuries, more energy usage, and a loss of productivity at work.
And it might pain Kiwis to learn that its introduction into our lives could be put down to a fellow New Zealander with a fondness for insects.
In 1895, post office employee and amateur entomologist George Hudson was bothered he didn’t have enough daylight after work hours to collect bugs.
It prompted him to present a paper presenting the idea of a two-hour daylight-saving shift in time to create lighter evenings. He’d have to wait over three decades for New Zealand to introduce daylight saving time. And he only got one hour, not two.
Listen to the full episode to hear about how Daylight Saving Time began and the arguments to scrap it.
The Front Page is a daily news podcast from the New Zealand Herald, available to listen to every weekday from 5am. The podcast is presented by Chelsea Daniels, an Auckland-based journalist with a background in world news and crime/justice reporting who joined NZME in 2016.
You can follow the podcast at iHeartRadio, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.
