Please note: This is an extract from Hansard only. Hansard extracts are reproduced with permission from the Parliament of Western Australia.

House: Legislative Assembly- Introduction and First Reading
Date: Wednesday, 22 June 2005

Member: GALLOP
Subject: STANDARD TIME BILL 2005

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STANDARD TIME BILL 2005
Introduction and First Reading

Bill introduced, on motion by Dr G.I. Gallop (Premier), and read a first time.
Explanatory memorandum presented by the Premier.

Second Reading

DR G.I. GALLOP (Victoria Park - Premier) [12.07 pm]: I move -

That the bill be now read a second time.

The Standard Time Bill 2005 provides that standard time throughout Western Australia will now be determined by reference to “Co-ordinated Universal Time”. Currently, standard time in Western Australia is determined by reference to “Greenwich Mean Time” in accordance with the Western Australian Standard Time Act 1895. Co-ordinated Universal Time is a more accurate and consistent time scale.
The bill is the result of a decision made on 5 November 2004 by the Standing Committee of Attorneys General, which agreed to replace references in legislation to “Greenwich Mean Time” with references to “Co-ordinated Universal Time”. To avoid confusion, it was agreed that these changes would be introduced on a uniform basis across Australia via legislation commencing on 1 September 2005.

Greenwich Mean Time is a solar time scale, based on the average time that the earth takes to rotate on its axis from noon to noon. However, it has been recognised that problems exist with measuring time based on the erratic motion of the earth. The rate of motion of the earth fluctuates by a few thousandths of a second a day, resulting in Greenwich Mean Time being a less accurate time scale. In contrast, Co-ordinated Universal Time is maintained by highly accurate atomic clocks and is accurate to approximately one billionth of a second per day. The international standard Co-ordinated Universal Time is determined by the International Bureau of Weights and Measures in Paris, which coordinates data from more than 200 atomic clocks located in timing laboratories around the globe, including the Australian National Measurement Institute and the United States Naval Observatory.

The adoption of Co-ordinated Universal Time as the reference for standard time in Western Australia is necessary for a number of reasons. Many modern technologies already use Co-ordinated Universal Time; for example, the satellite-based global positioning system is based on Co-ordinated Universal Time. The adoption of Co-ordinated Universal Time is also highly beneficial for various modern technical applications that require accurate synchronisation. In addition, a number of other nations, including the United States, New Zealand, Singapore and the United Kingdom, have already adopted Co-ordinated Universal Time. At the commonwealth level, the Chief Metrologist is already required by the Commonwealth National Measurement Act to maintain Co-ordinated Universal Time, as determined by the International Bureau of Weights and Measures. The Australian Bureau of Metrology has advised that, for most practical purposes, Co-ordinated Universal Time has already superseded Greenwich Mean Time. In Western Australia, the organisations that disseminate time, such as the National Measurement Institute, which has an outpost at the University of Western Australia physics school, and Telstra Australia already use Co-ordinated Universal Time to measure time. This proposed legislation will result in Western Australia’s standard time being based on the internationally accepted time standard. The bill also ensures that any reference in any legal instrument to time is to be construed as a reference to time as based on Co-ordinated Universal Time.

Debate adjourned, on motion by Mr R.F. Johnson.