Page 898 - Week 03 - Tuesday, 29 March 2011
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I have been in the lucky position to have been here long enough to have worked with Tu when she was in senior levels in the Treasury, including as, I think, Acting Under Treasurer at one point and then through her work as the Auditor-General. I also stand here as the minister responsible for several critical Auditor-General reports. I can honestly say that in all of my dealings with Tu in both of those roles I have found her commitment to believing in the public service, the importance of the public service and in delivering high quality services to the people of the ACT right at the forefront of her focus.
There is no doubt that when you look at her career history she has a very strong belief in the importance of public administration. She is also acknowledged by the business community through the Telstra business women’s awards and I think it is a credit to her that she has achieved that recognition. Also, when you look at Tu’s community work, whether it be through supporting migrant women, through the YWCA or through her membership of a number of boards she has served on over the years—the Legal Aid Commission springs to mind—you can see that her reach was not just around public administration. It reached into the business community and, importantly, it reached into the non-government sector of our community where she found time for those pursuits as well.
On top of that there was her commitment to her family, which we all enjoyed in her own reflections of her career at her farewell—understanding that she never lost sight of the importance of her children, her husband and her parents.
On a personal level, Tu has been incredibly kind to me over the years. I do not want to demean it to a woman-to-woman kind of relationship but there are barriers and struggles that women face when they are in positions of prominence in the community and to some extent only women understand those barriers and challenges.
I think there have been a couple of times where I have really reached sort of the end of my patience or belief that I could do a certain job. I have to say, Tu, that you have been incredibly kind to me and encouraging to me to stay with it and that we can have it all at the end of the day—the career, the family and being a part of our local community as well.
You do stand there as a woman who is going to encourage others. It is important that we acknowledge that because, without women like you, other women might not feel that they have got the capacity or the ability to do what you have done. You stand there and show them that you can. Certainly on behalf of the government, Tu, thank you for everything you have done. I certainly hope that you get the time you deserve to enjoy your family and other pursuits in this next stage of your life. Thank you.
MS BRESNAN (Brindabella), by leave: Obviously, Ms Le Couteur in particular has noted and outlined Tu Pham’s various awards and honours. I would like to state again the fact that Tu Pham was the first female Auditor-General in Australia. I understand now that there is a female Auditor-General in New Zealand. But with Tu Pham’s departure, we lose our only female Auditor-General in Australia. Hopefully other states will have females in that role.
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