The following memorandum has been submitted to me for advice:

1. The whole of Port Jackson is included in the Division of East Sydney.
2. Electors afloat in Hobson's Bay are included in the Division of Melbourne Ports.
3. Fremantle Harbour is included in the Division of Fremantle.

It is presumed that members of the crews of warships who have place of living ashore to which they resort when their vessels are in port should enrol for the Divisions in which those places of living are located. The question raised as to whether men who have no such places of living should not be entitled to enrol for their home ports, i.e. for the Division of East Sydney if their home port is Sydney; for the Division of Melbourne Ports if their home port is Melbourne; and for the Division of Fremantle if their home port is Fremantle.

At present those members of crews of warships who have no domicile ashore are permitted to enrol for the Division in which the home port of the vessel to which they are attached is located and as pointed out in the Secretary's communication the composition of crews is frequently being changed, and in many instances the men are thus required to enrol for a Division in a State wherein they have no interests.

Section 41 of the Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918-1919 provides that any person, qualified for enrolment, who lives in a Subdivision and has so lived for a period of one month last past shall be entitled to have his name placed on the Roll for that Subdivision and that no person is entitled to have his name placed upon any Roll other than that for the Subdivision in which he lives.

The section further provides that the validity of any enrolment shall not in any case be questioned on the ground that the person enrolled has not in fact lived in the Subdivision for a period of one month.

The existing practice is to enrol a member of the Navy for the Division in which his residence ashore is situate and if he has no such residence to enrol him for the Division in which the home port of his ship is situate.

The proposal to enrol sailors having no residence ashore in the Division in which their home port is situate appears to be liable to no greater objection than the course now followed, viz. to enrol those men for the home port of the ship.

It can I think be contended that, so far as those men are concerned who are engaged on warships and have no place of living or residence ashore, their place of living is their home port and that their absence is temporary and for the purpose of following their calling.

[Vol. 17,p.53]