The chair of Spirit of Tasmania operator TT-Line has disputed an auditor-general opinion that the ferry company is insolvent, saying that it would be “perverse” for the government to allow it to go under.
TT-Line chair Ken Kanofski appeared at a parliamentary scrutiny hearing on Monday morning, where he responded to questions about the state-owned company’s solvency.
Auditor-general Martin Thompson formed the view that TT-Line was insolvent in July because it could not pay its debts over the long term, and informed the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) on July 31.
TT-Line had its debt capacity increased from $990 million to $1.4 billion in July — and is negotiating to extend the repayment until 2028 — while it…