Premier Jay Weatherill says the half-hour difference with the eastern states causes confusion in many areas of people’s lives

This article is more than 5 years old

This article is more than 5 years old

The South Australian government is considering changing the state’s time zone to align either with Western Australia or the eastern states.



Premier Jay Weatherill said on Thursday a statewide consultation process would take place to explore whether the timezone was a barrier to social and economic activity.

“South Australia’s half-hour time difference to the eastern states and 90 minutes difference to Western Australia can cause confusion across the spectrum of our daily lives – from sporting fixtures to public service administration and business transactions,” he said.

“The business community has raised this issue with me on a number of occasions and I believe the time is right to put the broader question to the community about the day-to-day inconvenience of a half-hour time zone.”

Investment and trade minister Martin Hamilton-Smith will lead the consultation process with businesses, major sporting bodies, people in the regions and the broader community.

It will begin immediately and will take at least two months.

The minister acknowledged that people in the state’s west would have significant concerns about a move towards Eastern Standard Time.

“I am keen to explore the opportunity this change presents for making SA more connected to Australia and the international community,” he said.



The Northern Territory and the NSW town of Broken Hill also operate on Australian Central Standard Time.

Hamilton-Smith said the NT government and the Broken Hill community would also be consulted, as any changes to SA’s time zone might best be done in conjunction with them.

The Northern Territory chief minister, Adam Giles, said on Twitter he was unaware of any appetite to follow suit in the Territory.