Mr Murphy asked the Prime Minister, upon notice, on 19 June 2003:

(1) Has he seen a letter from Mr Tim McCombe, President of the Vietnam Veterans' Federation, dated 19 May 2003.

(2) Will he support the benchmarking of the Totally & Permanently Incapacitated (TPI) Pension to average earnings and regularly increase it in line with either (a) the increase in average weekly earnings or (b) the cost of living, whichever is greater; if so, when; if not, why not.

(3) Will he support a moderate increase of the TPI Pension before benchmarking it so as to make up for the shortfall caused by the decreasing real value of the TPI pension; if not, why not.

(4) Can he confirm that both (a) a moderate increase in the TPI Pension and (b) the benchmarking of the TPI Pension were identified by the Clarke Committee as necessary to give TPI families a decent standard of living; if not, why not.

Mr Howard (Prime Minister) —The answer to the honourable member's question is as follows:

(1) My Office received Mr McCombe's letter dated 19 May 2003 and responded on 18 June 2003.

(2) The Government established an independent Committee in February 2002 to conduct a review of veterans' entitlements. The Clarke Review considered, among other things, proposals to benchmark the TPI pension and index it to either (a) the increase in male total average weekly earnings (MTAWE) or (b) the consumer price index. The Clarke Review has made 109 recommendations. The Government is considering the Review's recommendations and the views of ex-service organisations and ex-service men and women before determining its response.

(3) The Government will consider any proposal to change the TPI pension in the context of its response to the Clarke Review.

(4) The Clarke Review is a matter of public record.