DS4SEQ Party Leader’s Blog

…..it’s just a jump to the left

…..and then a step to the right

OK, enough of the Rocky Horror anthem, but to be honest whatever the outcome of tomorrows election, be it a ‘jump to the left’ or a ‘step to the right’ one thing will be certain, the lack of Daylight Saving in South East Queensland will be firmly placed on the political agenda.

We have always been very realistic and pragmatic about what we would be able to achieve in or first campaign (note that’s ‘first’, not ‘only’).  We have never had any pretences about forming a government and we have always been totally upfront that we are focused on one issue and one issue alone, the fact that 69% of South East Queenslanders want daylight saving, yet both the main parties continue to be dead set against it. Our objective is to bring about change, change of thinking and change of attitudes on this issue.  Only by accepting the blindingly obvious logic of a dual time zone that meets the needs of BOTH South East Queenslanders and Regional Queenslanders (by not imposing DS on them) can the majority be satisfied on this issue.

Inevitably during this campaign we have been written off by the mainstream parties (and to a great extent, also by the mainstream media) as being a fringe group of loons with a no hope policy.  However the grass roots advocacy of our fantastic candidates, combined with some judicial use of modern on-line campaigning techniques has seen our message extended to a wider, and welcoming, audience.  Slowly, bit by bit, the simple logic of our approach is being understood and embraced by many who would previously never have considered voting for a single issue party.  We are of course fortunate that the ‘optional preferential voting’ that we have in state elections means that a great many voters who would normally vote for other parties have contacted us to say they are going to vote 1 DS4SEQ to get the message across on their demand for daylight saving, and then use their preference vote based on their other political views.

So, am I going to make any predictions for the outcome, well no, not really.  The polls reckon it’s to close to call all around.  I will make one prediction though, whoever winds up a Premier, when they come to the analysis of what they need to do to stay ahead with voters next time around, one of their advisors is going to say most emphatically, ‘we really need to fix this daylight saving issue’!

Let’s make sure that we send our message loud and clear so that when that conversation takes place (and it may happen as early a this weekend) there can be no scope for doubt that the introduction of Daylight Saving in South East Queensland is what the people of South East Queensland want!

VOTE 1 DS4SEQ

After all, it’s really is about time!

Jason Furze

DS4SEQ Party Leader

Why are some people so resistant to change?

That’s the question I was asking myself at the end of this evening’s Channel 7 news bulletin.  I was watching because 7 News turned up to cover our ‘Launch with a difference’ event this morning and I wanted to see what coverage we got.  Good news, we where the lead story in the politics/election section, bad news, they got our name wrong!  It’s really frustrating when I see us referred to only as ‘The Daylight Saving Party’ – aghhhhhh!  We are the ‘Daylight Saving for South East Queensland Party’.  No doubt we will once again be deluged with emails from those in points outside our proposed zone diligently explaining why they don’t need daylight saving.  We of course will equally diligently respond that our proposal is only for South East QLD, and we have no intention of trying to impose daylight saving on them in exactly the same way that the lack of daylight saving should not be imposed on the majority in SE QLD who want it, and that’s why our proposal is best for all of Queensland etc etc.   So please ladies and gentlemen of the media, please please please get our name right!

Anyway, back to reflecting on resistance to change.  Later in the same news item 7 News did one of those great little ‘Flashback’ things they do.  The story was about the two ladies who chained themselves to the bar in the Regatta Hotel back in 1965 to protest about women being excluded from public bars.  Today of course we find it rather extraordinary that women ever faced this kind of exclusion, let alone that one of the catalysts to that change was two very courageous ladies who were determined to get their point across.  I could not help but think that maybe one day there will be story like this about Daylight Saving in SEQ, and people will comment on how surprising it is that there was ever a time when SEQ did not have daylight saving, and even more surprising, did you know that there was even a political party set up to get DS in SEQ – amazing!.

One other thing that struck me, and what really got me thinking about resistance to change, was that fact that after their stunt these ladies apparently received death threats. Bizarrely, I heard today that one our candidate’s had had their garage door pelted with fruit, now may have been sheer co-incidence of course, it could just have been kids messing about, but it’s a rather odd coincidence!  Obviously a minor incident like that is not in the same league as death threats, but it does make you wonder just why sometimes those who are so resistant to change react in such an anti-social way when faced with rational and logical arguments for change that they are just unable to overcome?

Enough of the deep and thoughtful stuff.  Back to the highlight of the day, which was of course our launch this morning.  It was a very silly and fun event, but nevertheless making a really important underlying point about the level of disruption that SE Queensland’s lack of Daylight Saving causes in this area.  We have had quite a few messages of support from people in that particular area saying how much difficulty the time difference causes them from both a business and family perspective, and how pleased they are that somebody (us) has at last picked up the challenge to actually try to do something about the SE QLD DS issue.

We will get our own footage of our whimsical launch sketch up on Youtube as soon as we can.  Our thanks to all those involved, especially our two actors for agreeing to get up so early to play their roles, and of course, the rest of the supporting cast and crew.  We will be hitting the media releases and the web and new media ‘airwaves’ with more interesting stuff this week.  It’s now that we really have to start hitting home our message, so if there is anything you can do to spread the word by responding to on-line polls or blog comments in support of our mission, please do so!  In fact, as I write this I see that we are currently in the lead on one on-line poll – wow!  Go to www.qldvoice.org and cast your vote there to keep us in the lead!

We kind of see this as a practice run for the real thing on the 21^st!

Remember – ‘It’s about time’

Jason Furze

DS4SEQ Party Leader

What a day!

I guess we always knew that today was going to be big for us, we have packed so much effort into such a short time that we were always going to go down to the wire on some things, and getting all our candidates registered in time certainly did.  Cut off time was 12 midday today, we left the ECQ building at 11.50am – hey, we actually had 10 minutes to spare in the end!  What was I worried about

But the big news THIRTY TWO CANDIDATES!!!

OK, not the full complement of 67 we would have ideally liked, but lets get this in context.  We are a single issue party who have been registered for less than 3 months.  Or, to look at it another way, we are fielding more candidates than Family First and One Nation …… put together!  Whichever way you look at it, getting this number of candidates together is a stonking achievement in it’s own right and one I think we can be justifiably proud of.

I am proud not just for this achievement, but also for the fact that 29 other party members (outside of our executive) have chosen to put their reputations on the line, stump up the cash for an electoral deposit, and back our view that ‘it’s about time’ the people of South East Queensland got daylight saving.  That’s a huge leap of faith on the part of all our candidates and one I wish to publicly thank each and every one of them for.

So, now we have to set about the fun bit – getting our message out there.  We have a number of activities planned for the remaining weeks of the election campaign, watch this space for more details.  Right now though my real concern is that one thing may trip us up, and it’s not the competition, political risks, or Pauline Hanson pointlessly grabbing all the media attention!  It’s money, or more accurately the lack of it!

DS4SEQ has been put together on a total shoestring budget, but the trouble with shoestrings is that they only stretch so far.  We have barely enough cash in the bank to do the minimum essentials to support our candidates, with just a little more we could so much more.  I know the begging bowls have been out on many fronts recently and for very worthy causes, but if you or anybody you know can stretch to contributing a few extra dollars it really could make all the difference for us. Donations can be made on line via the website at www.ds4seq.org.au/donate.html

Finally, and on a much more positive note, we held our first party general meeting this evening. Well attended by a number of supporters and candidates, thanks to all those who came along.  Fortunately for me I was largely able to leave the running of the meeting in the capable hands of our Chairman, John Burkett, and Secretary, Marcus Fitz-Gerald, who between them made it all run like clock-work.  We rounded off the evening with a good general chat and exchange of ideas with the candidates present, a really useful discussion.  We are running with some really smart people as candidates, all of whom are passionate about what we are looking to achieve – I cannot tell you how much I am looking forward to working with this team of great people over the next three weeks!

Remember – ‘It’s about time’

Jason Furze

DS4SEQ Party Leader