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Some of Comans' more notable work was the drafting of the Double
Dissolution Proclamation read for then Governor-General of Australia, Sir John Kerr, on the steps of Old Parliament House on 11 November 1975. This had been drafted on instruction by the Governor-General on conditions of secrecy from
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in 1936, and first worked in the
Taxation Office in Canberra, before becoming a legal officer in the Attorney-General’s Department, a post he held between 1938 and 1948. He went on to become the First Assistant Parliamentary Draftsman in 1949, Second Parliamentary Counsel in 1970 and First
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Comans married Nancy Button in August 1944; they had three sons - Michael (now deceased), Peter (now deceased) and Philip - and one daughter - Leigh. Apart from his roles in the
Commonwealth offices, he was a lecturer at Canberra University College between 1945 and 1948.
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Comans work also included the
Marriage Act in 1961, the Trade Practice Act in 1974 the Family Law Act in 1975 and the Darwin Reconstruction Bill after the devastating cyclone Tracey that hit Darwin in late 1974.
162:, the only son of Michael and Kate Comans. He was educated at Christian Brothers’ College, Victoria Parade, Melbourne. There, he won a scholarship to attend St Kevin’s High School. He went on to study
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Parliamentary
Counsel in 1972, a post he held for five years until 1977. His career spanned the offices of 14 Prime Ministers and 16 Attorneys-General of the Commonwealth. He was appointed
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Michael Kirby, 'Comans, Charles
Kennedy (1914–2012)', Obituaries Australia, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University,
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Prime
Minister Whitlam and dissolved the then Whitlam government and appointed Malcolm Fraser as a caretaker Prime Minister.
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in 1977. The
Charles Comans meeting room in the Office of Parliamentary Counsel in Canberra was named in his honour.
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and at 21, he was then the youngest person to achieve a master of laws from the university.
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Comans has a room named for him at the Office of
Parliamentary Counsel and his
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http://oa.anu.edu.au/obituary/comans-charles-kennedy-15946/text27175
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187:(OBE) in 1965, the Commonwealth Queen's Counsel in 1974, and
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Australian
Government Office of Parliamentary Counsel
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185:Officer of the Order of the British Empire
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93:Lawyer, parliamentary draftsman, lecturer
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295:"Comans, Charles Kennedy (1914–2012)"
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262:"Australian Law Journal". 2012.
142:on 12 September 2012, aged 97.
109:3 sons (2 deceased), 1 daughter
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233:"First Parliamentary Counsel"
130:(born 21 October 1914) was a
16:Australian lawyer (1914–2012)
178:Comans was admitted to the
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381:Australian King's Counsel
352:by Philip Comans, his son
344:the Sydney Morning Herald
325:, accessed 17 March 2013.
204:history has been recorded
206:at the National Library
146:Early life and education
350:Comans, Charles Kennedy
340:Comans, Charles Kennedy
366:Lawyers from Melbourne
275:Cite journal requires
116:Charles Kennedy Comans
25:Charles Kennedy Comans
299:Obituaries Australia
168:Melbourne University
85:Melbourne University
150:Comans was born in
63:September 12, 2012
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245:. Retrieved
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101:Nancy Button
65:(2012-09-12)
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376:2012 deaths
371:1914 births
360:Categories
348:Eulogy of
219:References
37:1914-10-21
160:Australia
152:Melbourne
75:Australia
53:Australia
45:Melbourne
304:16 March
247:16 March
156:Victoria
140:Canberra
136:lecturer
106:Children
71:Canberra
49:Victoria
174:Career
132:lawyer
98:Spouse
342:from
306:2013
281:help
249:2013
60:Died
31:Born
189:CBE
166:at
164:law
124:OBE
120:CBE
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