Daylight saving devastates Idol fans
The World Today - Wednesday, 9 November , 2005 12:46:00
Reporter: Melanie Christiansen
ELEANOR HALL: It's being billed as a case of daylight robbery.
When fans of a Queensland contestant on a popular TV show tried to register their vote, some were told they were too late because the Sunshine State isn't on daylight saving time.
It's caused outrage with the Premier intervening and one Liberal politician claiming Queensland is being punished for failing to join the national daylight saving club.
Melanie Christiansen filed this report from Brisbane.
(Sound of Dan England singing "Heartbreak Hotel")
MELANIE CHRISTIANSEN: With that performance on Australian Idol failing to secure Queensland's Dan England enough votes to remain in the competition, his devoted fans are incensed, some even fearing this is a case of "daylight robbery" with comments like these on the show's official website.
WEBSITE COMMENT 1: How many voters like me forgot the daylight savings time difference and voted too late to be counted? Makes me wonder because Dan should've been on the top.
WEBSITE COMMENT 2: Queenslanders have an hour less to vote than those on daylight saving. Perhaps if we could have voted on Monday night, once they told us how close it was, Dan may have got those 27 votes.
WEBSITE COMMENT 3: Him being a Queenslander and us not being able to vote for that hour makes you wonder if the result would've been different if we could have voted.
MELANIE CHRISTIANSEN: The scandal has even reached the Queensland parliament with Liberal MP Michael Caltabiano claiming Queensland has been cheated.
MICHAEL CALTABIANO: With only 27 votes determining the results, it must be asked, if Queensland had daylight saving, Deputy Speaker, would Dan still be in the race to become Australian Idol? Well, the logic of the answer would suggest yes.
SPEAKER: Member for Southport, order.
MICHAEL CALTABIANO: Dan England, a relaxed likeable performer, always kept his cool during the show - for those who watched it, and my daughters loved it - and according to channel 10 tore the roof off the studio with a brilliant vocal effort, should still be in the running to win Australian Idol, 27 votes, the margin that eliminated this brilliant young man.
Not having daylight saving in Queensland resulted in Queensland having one hour less. If south-east Queensland was in the same time zone as the rest of the eastern states, there would have been one more hour of votes from south-east Queensland Australian Idol fans and a strong likelihood that Queensland's Dan England would still be in the contention to win the show.
MELANIE CHRISTIANSEN: And Mr Caltabiano was quick to lay the blame at the feet of the Queensland Premier, Peter Beattie.
MICHAEL CALTABIANO: This Government and their attitude towards not acknowledging the benefits of daylight saving, particularly for the south east corner, and completely ruling it out, has resulted in another casualty - that of dreadlocked Dan England.
If the Labor Government kept in synch and kept up with the rest of the country this disappointing situation would very much not have occurred.
MELANIE CHRISTIANSEN: Always ready to say sorry when a scandal erupts, the Queensland Premier was ready for the attack.
PETER BEATTIE: Well absolutely, I mean, I've been accused of everything from being Jack the Ripper, through to I'm sure, the latest loss in the Australian Idol.
But look, the contestant Dan England comes from the Sunshine Coast. He was voted out, would you believe, by 27 votes on Monday. I mean, that is real marginal, very marginal. Look, we were robbed. I mean, Dan was robbed.
MELANIE CHRISTIANSEN: But Peter Beattie is turning the heat on to the show's producers, calling for a recount.
PETER BEATTIE: I'm asking Channel 10 to wake up to themselves, to turn back the clock to Monday and give him a fair go, they should reopen the voting in Queensland for an hour and it's time that Queensland had a winner on Australian Idol, well past its time. Now, if they do, I'm sure that I can find 27 votes within an hour.
ELEANOR HALL: Music and politics. An outraged Queensland Premier, Peter Beattie there, ending that report from Melanie Christiansen in Brisbane.
Source: http://www.abc.net.au/worldtoday/content/2005/s1501218.htm
Shameful, Idol. Surely your producers must know that Beattie is a populist of the highest order! Thanks for giving him yet another pointless issue to whinge about across the airwaves.
Then again, maybe if the Queenslanders had just read what was on the screen (voting closes at whenever eDst)... No, that's pushing it, I think.
