Deaths still a mystery

Polo ponies might have died before boarding ship: TT Line

TT-LINE says it is not clear whether 16 polo ponies died before, during or after their journey on the Spirit of Tasmania in January.

Company chairman Mike Grainger, fronting government business enterprise hear- ings yesterday, acknowledged there had “been damage to our brand about this, and we’re not too happy about that” since the high-profile deaths of the ponies after the Barnbougle Polo.

But he denied TT-Line was to blame for the incident and said there had not been confirmation they had died while on board the Spirit.

“We’re confident the company is not at fault because of the [environmental] testing that we’ve done,” Mr Grainger said.

“Nothing has indicated that there is a problem but it is such a delicate matter and it is before the courts so we would be mad to make a comment on it.”

Pony owner Andrew Williams with Twynam Agricultural Group and Willo Polo have taken legal action against TT-Line in relation to the deaths of 13 of the ponies.

They are suing for the value of the horses — $639,000 — and $100,000 in lost profits and wages.

Greens leader Cassy O’Connor seized on TT-Line conditions that meant the company would not take responsibility for deaths on board the Spirit even if found negligent.

Ms O’Connor and Opposition infrastructure spokesman David O’Byrne repeatedly asked why the investigation into the ponies’ deaths was taking so long.

Infrastructure Minister Jeremy Rockliff said: “All Tasmanians would appreciate that process here is paramount if we are to ensure we get a full understanding of what happened and full accountability as a result of what happened.”

emily.baker@news.com.au