4 years ago
INCAPACITATED VETERANS’ PENSION REVIEW
SHAYNE NEUMANN MP
The Morrison Government has failed to respond to a review of the Totally and Permanently Incapacitated (TPI) veterans’ pension it has buried for 18 months.
In March 2019, the Morrison Government commissioned the Tune Review of the Total and Permanent Incapacity pension to evaluate TPI veterans’ push for an increase in the payment to restore economic loss.
This followed a meeting between the Prime Minister and the TPI Federation, which represents Australia’s 28,000 TPI veterans, where he acknowledged they had a compelling case for compensation.
It is now a whole year since Scott Morrison received the review of the TPI payment and the veteran community is still without answers.
During Senate Estimates in October 2019, the Department of Veterans’ Affairs revealed that Scott Morrison had received the review at the end of August last year.
A year on, Scott Morrison must immediately release the Tune Review, which he has been sitting on for a year now and provide certainty for our TPI veterans.
After repeated requests for answers, in June this year, the TPI Federation applied to receive the report under Freedom of Information, but was told it had been classified ‘Cabinet-in-Confidence’ and would not be released.
This is not good enough. Australia’s 28,000 TPI pensioners deserve to know the findings of the Tune Review and what the Morrison Government’s response is.
TPI compensation payments are supposed to compensate veterans who are suffering permanent disability as a result of their military service.
In addition to the TPI review, Labor has for the past year been calling on the Morrison Government to deliver its overdue response to the July 2019 Productivity Commission inquiry into the veteran support system.
This continued delay and inaction on a number of significant reports makes a mockery of the Morrison Government’s claims to put veterans and their families first.
The clock is ticking, and our veterans and their families deserve to know what the Morrison Government’s plans are when it comes to their pensions, and not continue to be left in the dark.
In March 2019, the Morrison Government commissioned the Tune Review of the Total and Permanent Incapacity pension to evaluate TPI veterans’ push for an increase in the payment to restore economic loss.
This followed a meeting between the Prime Minister and the TPI Federation, which represents Australia’s 28,000 TPI veterans, where he acknowledged they had a compelling case for compensation.
It is now a whole year since Scott Morrison received the review of the TPI payment and the veteran community is still without answers.
During Senate Estimates in October 2019, the Department of Veterans’ Affairs revealed that Scott Morrison had received the review at the end of August last year.
A year on, Scott Morrison must immediately release the Tune Review, which he has been sitting on for a year now and provide certainty for our TPI veterans.
After repeated requests for answers, in June this year, the TPI Federation applied to receive the report under Freedom of Information, but was told it had been classified ‘Cabinet-in-Confidence’ and would not be released.
This is not good enough. Australia’s 28,000 TPI pensioners deserve to know the findings of the Tune Review and what the Morrison Government’s response is.
TPI compensation payments are supposed to compensate veterans who are suffering permanent disability as a result of their military service.
In addition to the TPI review, Labor has for the past year been calling on the Morrison Government to deliver its overdue response to the July 2019 Productivity Commission inquiry into the veteran support system.
This continued delay and inaction on a number of significant reports makes a mockery of the Morrison Government’s claims to put veterans and their families first.
The clock is ticking, and our veterans and their families deserve to know what the Morrison Government’s plans are when it comes to their pensions, and not continue to be left in the dark.