Vietnam Row In Australian House

Press, Volume CVI, Issue 31178, 30 September 1966, Page 18

Vietnam Row In Australian House

(N.Z. Press Association—Copyright) CANBERRA, September 27. The Acting Speaker in the House of Representatives, Mr P. E. Lucock, today suspended a Labour Opposition front-bencher for 24 hours after a row over Vietnam.

Mr A. D. Fraser, from New South Wales, was named in the House after he defied two warnings to stop interjecting.

The incident occurred as the Minister for Defence, Mr Alan Fairhall, was attacking the Opposition's Vietnam policy. Mr Fairhall said no amount of civil aid without military cover would help the Vietnamese because the Viet Cong destroyed such projects. He said the Viet Cong had destroyed an entire dairy

farm and cattle given by Australia. Mr Fraser shouted: The Americans bombed it.

He was warned, but, when he repeated his statement, was named and suspended. Outside the House, Mr Fraser said be had been told of the accidental bombing by the Americans of the Australian dairy farm in Vietnam by an Australian Regular Army soldier. He said the soldier had told his uncle about the bombing in a letter. The soldier’s uncle was a dairy farmer and was keenly interested in the project, Mr Fraser said.