The Department of Internal Affairs and the Internal Affairs minister, Rick Barker, also received a lot of support for a change, including from the Federated Farmers. Farmers had usually opposed a change to the daylight saving period because it hampered with operations. Helen Clark, the Prime Minister of New Zealand, stated that she personally did not support a change to the start of daylight saving in March. However the main reason that the start was altered was to avoid clashes with the fourth school term.
New Zealand changed the daylight saving period.