FARMERS WILL GET CONTINUED AID.   Australia was now selling her fair share of wheat under the International Grains Arrangement, the deputy Prime Minister (Mr. McEwen) said last night. In his official Country Party policy speech for the October 25 election, Mr. McEwen, made only one promise of assistance: he said compensation would again be paid to the diary industry for devaluation losses. Compensation, designed to offset lower primary industry prices on the British market, has cost the Commonwealth $86 million since the United Kingdom devalued the £... in November 1967. He also promised country Party support for pools and other amenities in country areas and assistance for students who have to live away from home. Mr. McEwen said efforts would continue to be made to widen Australia’s overseas trading agreements. The Commonwealth now owned some of the most modern cargo ships in the world, the container vessels. The Commonwealth itself will be right inside the great shipping conferences trading to Britain and Europe, to Japan and to North America. Our purpose is to know and understand every single relevant fact, which may bear on what is a reasonable freight rate. However with all this done, there is still a problem of rising local costs. World prices have moved downward for most farm products. The farmer is really caught in a cost-price squeeze. The Country Party had devised and will continue to devise unique policies to offset the costs of the exporting rural industries.  Wheat crisis. Mr. McEwen said there had developed a crisis in wheat: a world oversupply. But the Commonwealth had tackled this and had not let things drift. The new international Grains has been put under tremendous pressure by record crops and by the selling policies of non-member exporters. I have battled hard to hold the agreement together, with the active support of the industry. Our efforts have been worthwhile. International orderly marketing has been preserved. On my latest information, Australia is selling her fair share of the market and our prices are something less than 5 cents a bushel below the IGA minimum. The crisis in wheat has been handled. Mr. McEwen said that compensation for the diary industry would be paid on the same basis in the current production year as previously. He said that since the UK devalued, $27 million had been paid to dairymen in compensation.  Water storage. The Country Party will always stand by this great industry, he said. Mr. McEwen said that the $100 million which the Prime Minister (Mr. Gorton) had announced would be given for water storage and flood mitigation work over the next five years meant that a total of $... million had been committed by the Commonwealth in this field. The Country Party wanted to make it attractive for manufacturing industry to establish in country centres. The Country Party wishes to have a special source of finance earmarked to help to establish industry in the country, he said. We want the advantage of moderate interest and lower freights. It is now a policy objective of the Country Party that Commonwealth funds should be made available through the state Governments as a contribution to the costs in the smaller centres of population of such amenities as swimming pools, child-care centres and showgrounds, playing fields and the like. The party also wished to ease the burden on the farmer of municipal rates.  Students. On education, Mr McEwen said many country children were denied access to education above primary level because parents could not afford the cost of keeping them away from home. The Country Party therefore sets an important objective of policy: a government allowance to students who must live away from home to receive their education and also a provision to cover their cost of travel. This it an important policy objective towards equalising the circumstances of life in the country compared to the bigger centres. Our policy to continue to innovate new provisions for country living and industry. It is the Country Party’s role to help the farming industry to survive in the otherwise impossible situation of producing in the environment of high and growing costs while selling in the world environment of low and falling prices. Mr McEwen said growth and development policies necessary for the nation had produced strong cost pressure on primary industry. The farm sector was losing out. Farmers costs had more than doubled while export prices had mostly declined. All other sectors could go to arbitration or the Tariff Board and increase their charges and so live with rising costs.  Fair play. It is not the Australian concept of fair play that one sector should be in increasing trouble while all other sectors grow better off, he said. It is farm products which earn the foreign funds which are essential to our continued growth. Mr McEwen said the Country Party offered help to the farmers with no apology. This is not a matter of handouts for the farmer, he said. No single thing is more national in character than to help farm industries, the earnings of which sustain employment in Australian factories. Without full employment there can be no migration. 'The Country Party has devised and will continue to devise unique policies to offset the costs of the exporting rural industries. Mr McEwen described the Japanese Trade Treaty for which he ... largely responsible, as almost the foundation of our wool trade today. He said that in the recent Budget the government had proposed to halve contributions of woolgrowers to promotion and research and accept an annual government liability of $27 million. The Government had also offered substantial financial assistance in support of new wool marketing arrangements.  Better presentation. The new arrangements, based on a wool board proposal, would bring an improved presentation of the clip on the action floor. He said the sugar industry had gained a fair price on the home market. The International Sugar Agreement achieved after seven years’ hard negotiations, was a very satisfactory basis for the free world price. The beef industry has had unceasing attention, he said. We negotiated access to the United States, now by far the biggest and most profitable market in the world, 225000 tons this year, worth about $200 million. Through negotiations, Japan will take about 15000 tons of Australian beef this year. Mr McEwen said there had been unique tax concessions designed to increase farms productive capacity and reduce costs. Additions in the recent budget included an allowance for deductibility on bores, water tanks, hay sheds, silos and subdivisional fencing. A system of drought bonds had also been introduced. This innovation of Country Party policy will enable arid area pastoralists to meet the inevitable drought, Mr McEwen said. The Country Party had also recently sponsored substantial estate duty concessions on rural estates. Farming has always been largely a family matter, Mr McEwen said. When the head of the family dies there are far and far too many instances of necessity to sell an important part of it in order to meet the probate duty. On foreign policy, Mr McEwen ... Government and Country Party determination to ... Australia’s ANZUS ... particularly with America. He said ... put of the Vietnam war, when the time came, would be planned after ... with our friends and with full regard to the safety of our troops. He said national service could not be taken as a policy in which it was simple to have a view. At rock bottom the issue of national service concern whether we can discharge the obligation of a treaty of national defence. We were unable to ..., voluntary, ... in Vietnam so we had to introduce national servicemen. The Labor Party's defence policy is quite deadly to our national interest.  Our alliance with the United States is an Alliance of mutual defence. Under Labor's Policy we would be a country which refused to raise men for national service and refused to raise troops for use outside the country. This would leave us completely unable to contribute to a policy or mutual defence. The alliance would be gone, Australia would left alone, a rich prize and an easy prey.  Build our defences. McMahon  Australia must be prepared to shoulder greater defence responsibilities, the Federal Treasurer (Mr McMahon) said on ABC radio last night. He described Labor's defence policy as isolationist and even cowardly. We must not be beguiled into thinking that crash efforts can be quickly and effectively mounted, he warned. The British were leaving South-East Asia and the United States Administration was having difficulties sustaining its present policies for the defence of South Vietnam and to retain a military presence on the Asian mainland. We have the small but unwelcome Russian intrusion into the Indian Ocean, he said. Against this background, it is of critical importance to us that we sustain our friendly relations with Singapore and Malaysia. We must to all in our power to strengthen the bonds of trust and mutual co-operation between the US and ourselves.