It is understood that Prime Minister John Howard has asked for a State funeral to be held at the Royal Military College Duntroon near the end of the week.

The former Fraser Government minister died of a chronic lung disease associated with the degenerative condition lupus, from which he had been suffering for some time.

Over the past six weeks Mr Newman had been in hospital and discharged but returned to hospital last Thursday.

Senator Newman, who had been on Federal Government business in London, flew back to Australia after Mr Newman's unexpected hospital stays.

The former Australian Army lieutenant-colonel died surrounded by his family.

The late Kevin Newman, MHR, was half of one of Australia's most notable political partnerships.

Kevin Newman AO, the man who won the plum Labor seat of Bass for the Liberal Party in 1975, fought his last battle in a Canberra hospital in the early hours of Saturday.

Aged 65, he had been suffering from the degenerative disease lupus for many years and had been hospitalised within the last six weeks.

He died at 8am in the presence of his family.

Mr Newman's wife, Federal Family Services Minister Jocelyn Newman, was in London terminating the Australian social security agreement with Britain when she heard he had been taken to hospital unexpectedly. She flew back urgently to be with him.

In a statement released yesterday she asked for privacy to mourn his loss.

The Newmans had been a close couple, with Senator Newman standing beside her husband as he fought lupus and he standing beside her in a battle with uterine and breast cancer.

In the book Partners, about Australian couples who have been together for a long time _ the Newmans married on July 1, 1961 _ Senator Newman described their relationship as more than a love affair: a great friendship.

``Swept off my feet at that well-known Victorian social event, the Puckapunyal Army Ball, so began a terrific love affair which has endured for almost 40 years,'' she said.

The former lieutenant- colonel wrote of his relationship with his wife that his incurable disease and her fight against cancer had had a positive effect, honing an appreciation of life, love, family and friends.

``Every day is special and to be lived to the full. It also helps to put problems in perspective.

``Just to be alive and loved counts for more than fame and fortune. We think fortune has smiled upon us.

``When we married it was for love. But we all know that choosing a mate for life can be a pig in a poke. For us a long marriage has worked,'' he said.

Kevin Eugene Newman had been a fighter and leader almost all his life.

He graduated from the Royal Military College Duntroon in 1954 and from the Army Command and Staff College in 1966.

He was platoon commander in the Third Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment, during the Malayan emergency in 1956, and then served as operations officer of 2RAR in South Vietnam in 1967.

He became commanding officer of 5RAR in 1972 and commander and deputy commander of 6 Military District Tasmania in 1974-75.

He resigned his commission to enter politics, fighting and winning the famous June 28, 1975, by-election which heralded the end of the Whitlam era with a massive 17 per cent swing against Labor.

He held a string of ministerial posts in the Federal Government of Malcolm Fraser and resigned because of ill- health in 1984.

Senator Newman entered parliament two years later.

Tasmanian Liberal Party president Jim Bowler said that Mr Newman had been a great Liberal and strong representative of Bass.

``He will always be remembered for his win in the Bass 1975 by-election that foreshadowed a ripple of change right across Australia,'' Mr Bowler said.

``Kevin worked continuously to support the Liberal cause even after retiring from Parliament. His guidance will be sorely missed.''

Mr Newman is also survived by a son Campbell and daughter Kate.

Leading political figures yesterday paid tribute to former frontbench Bass Liberal MHR Kevin Newman, who died on Saturday.

Acting Prime Minister Tim Fischer remembered Mr Newman as a friend.

``I am saddened by the death of Kevin Newman. He was a very capable battalion commander and federal minister and friend,'' Mr Fischer said.

He said a state funeral would be held.

Mr Fischer had spoken to Mr Newman's widow, Senator Jocelyn Newman, ``who, as always, has a hidden strength''.

Opposition Leader Kim Beazley echoed Mr Fischer's comments, saying Mr Newman and his wife had been a strong political team.

``On behalf of the Opposition I express my deepest sympathies to Jocelyn Newman on the death of her husband,'' Mr Beazley said. ``Jocelyn and Kevin were an important political team and she will feel his loss keenly.

``Kevin was a distinguished minister in his day.''

State Opposition Leader and Bass Liberal MHA Sue Napier issued her own tribute to Mr Newman.

``(He was) an extraordinarily hard worker for the people of Bass,'' she said.

``Kevin was known by the ordinary person in the street. He seemed to know everyone.''

She said his victory in the 1975 Bass by- election had heralded a golden era of success for the Tasmanian Liberal Party, both electorally and in membership.

``Kevin held the federal seat of Bass for nine years, during which time he held a number of portfolios, working tirelessly for the country and the people of Bass,'' she said.

``Upon entering Parliament he tenaciously followed through promises and helped oversee the completion of projects such as the maritime college, the Launceston General Hospital (and) the Albert Hall Convention Centre, as well as driving the push for freight equalisation.

``He was highly respected by all sectors of the community.

``He was always devoted to his wife and family, and unswervingly supported Senator Jocelyn Newman in her rise to holding and excelling in a senior federal ministry.''

She said the Newmans had had a tremendous partnership.

Launceston-based Liberal senator John Watson said Mr Newman would be fondly remembered in Tasmania as an achiever who had represented his people strongly in Federal Parliament.

``Kevin brought a new and very practical dimension to federal-State relations, especially in terms of the delivery of massive special financial payments for Tasmania,'' he said.

Mary Willey, who unsuccessfully ran against Mr Newman for the federal seat of Bass in 1977, yesterday said she was saddened by his death.

``I first met him when I was handing out how-to-vote cards for the Labor Party at a polling booth in Trevallyn in 1975. He didn't even know me, but he came over and offered me a cup of coffee,'' Ms Willey said.

``He was a very nice man. Almost too nice for politics.''

A lifetime of service Kevin Eugene Newman, former Lieutenant- Colonel in the Royal Australian Regiment, received the Order of Australia in 1994.

It was an honour for a long list of services to the Australian public, especially outside political life.

In 1975, at 42, he entered politics after an army career that had started in 1952 at the Royal Military College Duntroon.

He became Repatriation Minister in 1975 and Environment, Housing and was Community Development Minister in 1976-77, when he saved Fraser Island from sand mining.

He was National Development Minister in 1977-79, Productivity Minister in 1979-80 and Administrative Services Minister in 1980-83.

He was MHR for Bass from 1975 to 1984.

He was also:

Australian Council of National Trusts chairman, 1992-95.

The National Trust's Tasmanian president, 1988-91.

Launceston General Hospital board chairman, 1985-89.

Tasmanian Committee of Nurse Education chairman, 1896-90.

Menzies Centre for Population Health Research foundation member and chairman 1988-91.

At his death he was a director of the Stockman's Hall of Fame and chairman of the council of Old Parliament House, Canberra.