“Fortunately, WIT had the foresight to take out the appropriate insurance, statutory liability insurance it’s called, and that policy enables reparation to be paid to victims of health and safety breaches.
“That will be paid promptly, certainly within the next 21 days or so, to the Ministry of Justice, who are tasked with administering the collection and the payment out of reparation to the victims.”
However, Raymond said the company was not in a position to pay the fine.
“That is a more difficult issue. The company doesn’t have any funds to pay a fine, given that the company has not been trading for over three years, has no assets and has considerable debts.”
He said White Island Tours was likely to close its doors.
“The timeframe for the discussions on liquidations will take place over the next week to two weeks, and the decision will be made by the only remaining director of the company as to whether to place the company into liquidation or whether there are advantages for keeping it going a little longer.
“But it’s likely that the company will go into liquidation.”
Raymond said a coroner’s inquiry into the tragedy was set to begin next year.