David Williams talks about his working relations with different Ministers and dealing with changes to the structure of government departments. He comments on how public service executives can have to prove themselves to new Ministers. He describes the period of administrative transition after the Borbidge government came to office, and appointments to the boards of GOCs.
David Williams talks about his role as head of the Queensland Events Corporation, including how he dealt with lobbying by interest groups from different parts of the state. He mentions the secrecy of some of the agency's negotiations in the competitive arena of events bidding and planning, and how some events were 'poached' from other states. He also discusses the agency's funding arrangements and budgetary planning for events such as the Indy car race.
David Williams discusses working in government in both Tasmania and Queensland during the 1980s and 1990s. He compares the large number of departments in Tasmania's bureaucracy with developments in Queensland where the state government had begun the process of corporatising agencies and offices. He adds that events agencies were a relatively new initiative operating in only a few states.
David Williams outlines his return to Queensland in 1989 to head the new Queensland Events Corporation for the state government, by then led by Labor premier Wayne Goss. He describes the state government's eagerness to capitalise on successful events such as the Commonwealth Games and the 1988 World Expo. He explains that within four years he had been appointed as a Director General in the public service.
