Arthur Sinodinos (NSW, Liberal Party, Minister for Industry, Innovation and Science) Share this | Hansard source

I've already addressed the issue of the Greens amendment on the removal of the FOI exemption. I will say, in relation to removing Efic's ability to support fossil fuels, that we will also be opposing this amendment. Efic provides support to Australian exporters where private financial institutions are unable or unwilling to support—in other words, where there is a gap. It is not for the purposes of subsidising. It would be an unprecedented step for a government to legislate to ban the financing of a product that, the last time I looked, is beneficial, legal and a major export earner for the country. Furthermore, the broad sweep of the language in the amendment, directly or indirectly, would even stop Efic financing SME-equipment suppliers to coal-export projects and potentially go much broader than that, so we will not be supporting this amendment.

Let me make the point that issues to do with emissions and the control of greenhouse-gas emissions and the like, pursuant to our strong commitments under the Paris Agreement, are a separable issue to whether support is provided to a coal project within Australia. The other point I will make is that, when Efic finances overseas projects relating to coal or support of SME suppliers of coal, it adheres to OECD arrangements on export credit disciplines and on coal-fired power plants which came into effect in January this year and is bound by the OECD recommendation of the Council on Common Approaches for Officially Supported Export Credits and Environmental and Social Due Diligence. Efic also adheres to the Equator Principles, which is a globally recognised benchmark to manage environmental and social risk in projects. For these reasons, we will not be supporting this amendment or the other amendment.