OFFICIAL INQUIRY SET FOR AUSTRALIAN WHEAT INDUSTRY

  The government's industry aid and
  protection review body, the Industries Assistance Commission
  (IAC), will hold a 12-month inquiry into the Australian wheat
  industry, Primary Industry Minister John Kerin said.
      The IAC has been asked to report on the need for assistance
  to the industry and the nature, duration and extent of any aid,
  he said in a statement.
      He said the inquiry will be the first step in setting
  marketing arrangements to apply after June 30, 1989, when the
  underwriting and pricing provisions of the 1984 Wheat Marketing
  Act expire.
      Kerin said the broad-ranging reference would allow a full
  examination of all aspects of the wheat-marketing system.
      "The inquiry will be required to take into account changes
  which have taken place in the industry as a result of the
  agricultural policies of major wheat producing countries and
  the industry's capacity to adjust to any recommended changes,"
  he said.
      "The inquiry is at an important time for the wheat industry,
  as the substantial fall in world prices is likely to trigger
  underwriting support from the government for the first time," he
  said.
      Kerin was referring to the government's underwriting of the
  guaranteed minimum price paid to wheatgrowers by the Australian
  Wheat Board near the start of the season.
      The IAC's report will be due at the same time as the
  findings of the current Royal Commission into Grain Storage,
  Handling and Transport, Kerin said.
      He said the timing of the IAC inquiry would allow its
  findings and those of the Royal Commission to be considered in
  later negotiations on wheat-marketing arrangements between the
  federal and state governments and the industry.
  

