Scott Ludlam (WA, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

asked the Minister representing the Minister for Trade, upon notice, on 13 December 2010:

With reference to the publication dated 18 August 2010 on the Export Finance and Insurance Corporation (EFIC) website which states that EFIC had signed a 10 year $50 million loan agreement with Australian business Orica Limited, to support the construction of an industrial grade ammonium nitrate plant in Indonesia: Why were the social and environmental impacts of this large scale project not considered to be significant enough to have the project classified as a 'Category A' under the EFIC environment policy.

Stephen Conroy (Victoria, Australian Labor Party, Deputy Leader of the Government in the Senate) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Minister for Trade has provided the following answer to the honourable senator's question:

EFIC assessed this transaction under its Environment Policy. As required under the Policy, EFIC assessed the activity of its client using the IFC Performance Standards as the benchmark. EFIC considered that this project's social and environmental impacts were few in number, generally site specific, largely reversible and readily addressed through mitigation i.e. the characteristics of a Category B project.