Speirs dips toe in election waters releasing a personal algal bloom plan
It is looking increasingly likely the former Liberal Opposition Leader – who pleaded guilty to drug supply charges – will make a state election tilt after releasing a 29-page algal bloom recovery plan. Watch the video.
An environmental policy to tackle the state’s harmful algal bloom was published by David Speirs on Sunday night and included plans to introduce legislation to parliament in 2026 – but the former MP was yet to confirm a return to politics.
Speirs had not yet decided whether to run for the state election, but would decide by the end of the year, he told ABC Radio Adelaide in a pre-recorded interview aired on Monday morning.
“I will make decisions towards the end of the year, I don’t think I need to rush those decisions, because I do have a body of support in the community that seems pretty resilient and robust and I’ll talk to those people over time,” Speirs said.
Speirs told InDaily he was currently in “windswept Scotland” and would comment later about any election bid.
He released a 29-page environmental policy via social media titled “Ideas for Recovery” with a first step including plans to introduce legislation in 2026 for an Office of Marine and Coastal Recovery.
The state government’s Algal Bloom Summer Plan – a 16-page document – included an Office for Algal Bloom Research based in SA to research the long-term effects of the algal bloom.
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Speirs said his own 10-year plan came after discussion with experts and was built on work undertaken when he was the state’s environment minister from 2018 to 2022.
In a video about the plan posted to Instagram, where his handle is still @DavidSpeirsMP, Speirs said though the state government has already began work on shellfish reef restoration, he wanted to see it “bigger and bolder”.
The video, also posted to Facebook, received 45 comments at the time of writing and was mostly positive, with one saying it was “brilliant” Speirs was keeping the discussion going, and another that called him a “born leader”.
Speaking to InDaily in August, the ex-Liberal leader said he was “not ruling anything out” following rumours he would run for the seat of Black in the state election next March.
Speirs was fined $9000 and handed 37.5 hours of community service this year after being convicted for supplying cocaine to two people.
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He was sentenced in April after pleading guilty the month prior to two counts of drug supply.
A Liberal Party spokesperson said Speirs’ new proposal showed a gap in the current government’s algal bloom response.
“The Labor Government’s response to the Algal Bloom has been so incredibly deficient that hobby-environmentalist David Speirs has put together his own plan,” the spokesperson said.
“SA Labor’s catastrophically delayed response has left a hole that clearly anyone could drive a truck through.”
SA Greens leader Rob Simms, who chairs the state’s algal bloom committee, said he had not been sent a copy of Speir’s proposal but he would “have a look”.
“Naturally I welcome any suggestions from the community about how to manage the algal bloom,” Simms told InDaily.
“I’ll certainly have a look at it but ultimately of course the government’s response to this crisis must be informed by the science.”
The state government’s Joint Committee on Harmful Algal Blooms will meet Monday afternoon to hear further evidence in its inquiry with officials from the Environmental Protection Agency and the Office for Recreation, Sport and Racing.
When asked about Speirs’ plan on Monday, Premier Peter Malinauskas pointed to the state and federal governments’ $20.6 million investment in the summer plan, including 15 hectares of oyster reef restoration.
“Mr Speirs is offering a commentary, he announced it from Scotland today, as he is entitled to, but we’re here on the ground in South Australia doing the work that is necessary and appropriate,” Malinauskas said.
“In terms of what he does with his political ambitions, that’s a matter for him.”
