Scott Morrison (Cook, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the member for his question and his keen interest in this issue. The government honours and respects the service of our TPI veterans, whose wellbeing has been severely impacted by their service. I have met with the TPI Federation and I have heard their case directly. I commissioned an independent review, as you know, of the TPI payment, which was undertaken by the respected former secretary of the Department of Finance, Mr David Tune. Mr Tune made a number of recommendations that the government accepted and progressed in the 2020-21 budget, which included changes to the disability pension which were then brought forward to be implemented sooner in the 2021-22 budget.

We welcomed the Senate Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade References Committee report into the TPI payment, and we commend the committee for the thoroughness with which it considered the complex issues raised in the course of that inquiry. We will now consider those recommendations of the committee together with the views of the ex-service community and the previous reviews undertaken into the TPI payment when considering future policy options for support of TPI veterans. The Minister for Veterans' Affairs may wish to add to my answer.

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