Page 897 - Week 03 - Tuesday, 29 March 2011
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reports come out. I was reflecting on some of the reports we have seen; there have been so many over the last few years. Many of them have looked at the very significant issues of governance and efficiency. I refer to the ambulance report, the report into the gas-fired power station, the reports into FireLink, government accommodation, Rhodium and courts administration, just to name a few.
We were very grateful in opposition for each of those reports because they obviously highlighted deficiencies and we, of course, used those to criticise the government and critique the government. But the reports also give a way forward for the government, and I think that a good government should actually welcome the Auditor-General doing their job well. Whilst it can be embarrassing at the time, it can lead to much better administration and therefore the better delivery of services. That will be one of the legacies of Tu Pham: in doing your job in the very professional manner in which you have, with limited resources, as we know, you will have helped better administration and therefore better services for the people of Canberra. That will be one of your legacies.
I know that there has been criticism from time to time. I would pay tribute to the courage that Tu Pham has shown in the face of sometimes quite hostile attacks. We could have arguments about the resources but that is probably for another day.
I would like to conclude by wishing you well in your future endeavours. On behalf of the Canberra Liberals and the people of the ACT, I thank you for the contribution you have made, not just as Auditor-General but also in your previous role as a senior public servant, as a servant of the people of the ACT.
MS GALLAGHER (Molonglo—Deputy Chief Minister, Treasurer, Minister for Health and Minister for Industrial Relations), by leave: I would like to support the comments that have been made this morning by a number of Assembly members about Tu Pham and her role in the ACT government service both in ACT Treasury and in her last role for the last number of years as Auditor-General.
In supporting Mr Seselja’s comments, I think Tu Pham’s story is a wonderful one for our community. It is a story of someone born in another country, who came here and studied and then over time, due to hard work, persistence and a lot of her own skills and abilities, was able to rise to the top of her profession. Not only in the role of the Auditor-General but for women in the ACT public service, she certainly stood there as someone that would encourage other women to take up the challenges that certainly Tu would have faced in getting to that position.
I attended Tu Pham’s farewell at the Assembly with a number of other members. We listened to Tu reflect on her own story of overcoming her arrival to a new country, overcoming language barriers and other cultural barriers. To get to where she has I think shows all the strengths and qualities that one would expect in an Auditor-General—toughness and commitment but fairness, a preparedness to listen and a preparedness to understand. I think those are all skills that Tu has brought to both her job as a public servant and then as a statutory office-holder as the Auditor-General.
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