The Secretary, Department of Home Affairs:

I have perused Mr Lewis' further telegrams of 5 December and today's date.

The responsibility of declaring who is duly nominated rests with the Divisional Returning Officer-and the Commonwealth Electoral [Officer] should print on the ballot-papers the names of those candidates only whom the Returning Officer declares to have been duly nominated.

If the Returning Officer asks for my advice, the answer is that the circumstances mentioned by Mr Lewis, though they show a case of great hardship, do not alter my previous opinion.⁽¹⁾ Nothing can override the absolute provisions of the Act that no nomination is valid unless received before the hour of nomination. On the facts stated, it appears that this nomination was not received until four minutes after that hour.

[Vol 4, p. 86]

(1) Opinion not found