TT LINE chairman Ken Kanofski has told a government business enterprise hearing in Hobart that disgust at the delays in the vessel and terminal replacement programs has seen company staff abused by members of the public and a reluctance by contractors to be associated with the projects.
Mr Kanofski was backed up by new TT Line CEO Chris Carbonne (who took up his role mid-May) who said staff had experienced “a very, very rough past 12 months. We acknowledge their loyalty and the fact that they have, by and large, stuck with us through some very difficult and challenging times,” he said.
The chairman said the project's reputation has deteriorated so badly that staff members faced abuse for it at work and in their private lives.
“They've got to put up with this at the school yard drop off, people have got to put up with it in the pub, people got to put up with it everywhere,” he said. “We have also really struggled to get a market for contractors to build the terminal building because people didn't want to be associated with this project.”
Mr Kanofski confirmed TT Line would move to a new pricing model when the new ships Spirit of Tasmania IV and V eventually enter service in October next year. This would be an airline-style model, “to segment demand and attract more people by offering tailored fares.
“We don't have pricing power,” Mr Kanofski said. “We operate in a market, we'll price appropriately for that market. “The ships are much bigger, and so clearly, our goal is to get more people on them to generate more revenue.”
Meanwhile, TT Line continues to contest assertions by Tasmania’s Auditor-General that the company is insolvent, repeated last week in the A-G’s annual report.
TT-Line Company Pty Ltd remains solvent and continues to pay its debts as and when they fall due, the company’s directors say.
“The Board disagrees (based on specialist external advice) with the Auditor General’s commentary on insolvency and remains confident of its position,” Mr Kanofski said.
“It is a matter of public record that the company has approximately $400 million in undrawn government guaranteed debt.
“We also have an additional $75 million in an equity contribution that was included in the state budget announced on 6 November. And TT-Line has already almost fully paid for the new ships and has more assets than liabilities.”
Mr Kanofski said the new board had been systematically working through the short, medium and long-term financial challenges which it inherited, in close consultation with the Tasmanian Government which is the shareholder, debt provider and debt guarantor for the company.
“The directors and management, with the assistance of our specialist advisers, continue to work on developing a range of long term financially sustainable options for the government to consider.
“In the coming months, we will be putting those options to the government via our shareholder ministers,” he said.
“We are very pleased that the government has confirmed its financial support for the company and the board and has indicated a strong willingness to continue to work with us, and that it stands behind the company and the essential service it provides for the Tasmanian visitor economy and freight sector.”