DG of the Department of Transport and Main Roads Dave Stewart with his children Kate and Sam.

Dig your DG

Meet Dave Stewart, the Director-General of the Department of Transport and Main Roads, who allowed Sectorwide into his office for a chat.

I was born in … Brisbane, at the Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital.

My first job was … packing groceries at Coles in Nambour. My first real job was a cadet technical officer for QR, then I moved to the Brisbane City Council to do an engineering cadetship. I've spent most of my time in the public sector but have had stints in the private sector both in Australia and in the UK.

I've been Director-General for … just over a year with Transport, and DG of Transport and Main Roads since March.

My greatest influence was … my grandparents. They were ten pound Poms. My grandfather worked for the North Australian Pastoral Company, initially as an engineer working on their road-train fleet. What a contrast - London to Boulia!

My best day in government was … being part of the whole-of-Government response to the oil spill clean-up. I was so proud of our people - from Maritime Safety Queensland leading the charge to our RoadTek employees on the shovels. Everyone worked so hard and they were so focused on cleaning up our beaches. We built some very positive relationships across Government. My thanks and congratulations go out to all involved.

My favourite holiday destination is … Sunshine Beach.

My favourite book is … To Kill a Mockingbird.

At the moment I'm reading … a trashy crime novel.

I like listening to … New Order. I love the album Get Ready.

My favourite television show is … the ABC News and I liked The Chaser's War on Everything.

My favourite movie is … anything by the Coen brothers or Clint Eastwood. I love Gran Torino and No Country for Old Men.

If a movie was made about me, the actor I would cast as Dave Stewart is … Sean Penn.

My secret to success is … to have a really positive outlook and work hard.

I want to be remembered as … the bloke who made a difference to transport in Queensland.

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Last reviewed: 31 August, 2009

Last updated: 1 September, 2009

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