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.