Page 893 - Week 03 - Tuesday, 29 March 2011
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have the revenue. I have great recollections of those times. While it was tough, at least the news was delivered by somebody who was very pleasant to be with.
As A-G, I think she has done an enormous job in lifting the integrity of the office; in lifting the professionalism of the office. And that is not a reflection on those who went before her; I think Tu understood that it was not just about the financial audits. The way that the performance audits have been delivered to this place over the last seven years is fantastic and it is an absolute credit to her and her staff. But it does start with the leader and it does start with leadership. I think in that way Tu Pham has truly led in the role of Auditor-General to the benefit of all of the people of the ACT.
You can see the way in which the office has grown. I think the integrity of the office is well and truly maintained but the professionalism of the office has grown, and whoever takes over after Tu will have big boots to fill.
They are two formal roles that we know Tu Pham in. I think it is the other sides of Tu Pham that people do not necessarily know about. I refer particularly to the young migrant woman with, let us face it, limited English skills who came to this country and made so much of herself in regard to getting her qualifications and working in the Queensland public service, in the Grants Commission and here in the ACT public service as the Auditor-General. That is an amazing record of achievement over the last 30 or so years for somebody to come to this country and achieve.
We are indeed a country of opportunity but you have got to have the drive, you have got to have the initiative and you have got to have the passion. And Tu has the drive, Tu has the initiative and Tu has the passion.
Tu is a fantastic example, particularly to all women, of what women can achieve—not because she is a woman but because she got off the couch and did the job. She actually got out there and said, “I will do this because I want to do it and I know I can do it.” Tu is one of those women who, when people say, “You need to have quotas,” I would point to and say, “Well, you don’t; you need to have people like Tu Pham.” Tu Pham is one of the great examples in this country in this day and age of what women can truly achieve when they seek to fulfil their potential.
For migrants who come to this country, no matter where you come from, no matter how you get here, people like Tu Pham are a tremendous example of the opportunity in this country. I think it is an example to all of those people, no matter where they come from and no matter how they got here. If you want to know what you can achieve, just look at the story of Tu Pham.
For people in the business community, and particularly public servants who, in a way, while not trying to compete, are in competition with the private sector, the fact that Tu has won the business women’s award shows the degree of professionalism that exists in the ACT public service and it is a great credit to her. Again, it sets another of those examples of how good you can be.
What I would like to concentrate on now is the thing that we do not see or hear about—Tu Pham’s dedication and devotion to her family. It is great to see that her
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