Opinion: Speirs is back in Black but with few friends in high places
Disgraced former Liberal leader David Speirs says his going it alone will be a big bonus for the voters in Black, but Mike Smithson is not so sure.
Former disgraced Liberal leader David Speirs has finally completed his cat and mouse re-election game for the seat of Black.
He still considers he has electoral appeal in the southern seat which was forced into a by-election after he quit the leadership and the party.
This is despite the fact that he was arrested and convicted on two drug supply charges involving cocaine almost a year ago.
His self-belief isn’t shared by powerbrokers in his former party.
It comes as no real surprise after he lied to the Liberal team and to the rest of the state about his drug involvement which included enticing a reforming addict back into the potentially deadly habit.
He recently approached the Liberal Party’s state executive for a preference deal which posed both reward and risk.
The hierarchy didn’t want a bar of their former golden boy but consulted their parliamentary MPs on whether to enter into a preference deal with him or not.
The joint decision was swift and without equivocation – Speirs will be preferenced last by the Libs in Black.
A senior Liberal told me that showing any support to Speirs after his words and actions was a risk not worth taking and was principled in decency rather than politics.
Speirs may still have a following down south but might also be deluded as to the extent of his popularity.
He wanted to be listed second on the Liberal how-to-vote card, which was not to help them, but to help himself if it’s a tight contest.
Combining their voting power in what was formerly a Liberal seat could have pushed him over the line if he finished second ahead of his former party.
You might like
With enough Speirs-faithful support, the opposite could have resulted with preferences helping ensure a Liberal victory if its endorsed candidate, Rhees Bishop, finishes in second spot.
So, it appears Speirs will need more than 50 per cent of the primary vote to get elected.
Black is considered one of the few Labor-held seats which could theoretically fall on March 21.
Alex Dighton won it in a historic by-election in November 2024.
When it comes to by-elections they traditionally track a protest votes against the sitting government, but not this time.
It followed a similar result in the Dunstan by-election which the Libs lost after the departure of former premier Steven Marshall.
What makes Black interesting is the current electoral margin.
On a two-candidate preferred basis, Dighton enjoyed a swing of 12.6 per cent and now holds a generous 9.9 per cent margin.
The sitting Labor MP has no hesitation in re-contesting the seat and who wouldn’t?
With a predicted statewide swing of six per cent towards Labor, it would appear he now can’t lose.
The only real threat would have come from a Speirs’ deal with the Libs, but that’s now shattered.
Having already expressed my views on David Speirs in InDaily, which are far from complimentary, I don’t want to demonize him any more than I already have, but there are significant factors remaining.
"His inability to tell the truth to me during his drug taking period left me stone cold."
He hid behind a shield of mental health problems trying to avoid a court conviction.
Many people have mental health issues which must be treated accordingly, but Speirs was leader of the state’s alternative government at the time and knew full well that his actions were destined to have consequences.
Now he’s saying that he’s used his time out of public life, also known as serving community service as part of the court-imposed order, to reflect, recover and reconnect with what matters.
“I’m ready to step back in,” he says.
“Not as a party person, but as an independent for the people of Black.
Stay informed, daily
“I know how the system works and I know where it fails people it’s supposed to serve.”
It’s a far cry from his bizarre resignation video speech posted from under a tree in August 2024, when he’d had “a gutful of being undermined and lacked the energy to fight on”.
This was when he was loudly protesting his innocence against a backdrop of another video showing him snorting a white powder.
Remember his wailings at the time that the images were “deep fakes and very disturbing”, despite expert analysis deeming them to be the real thing.
“Someone pretty sinister (is) behind this,” was his considered conspiracy theory as police raided his home.
He was equally concerned about the use of “state government power against someone who was a political opponent.”
The police commissioner was so enraged that he personally invited Speirs to take his views to the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC).
He never did.
Eventually, Speirs pleaded guilty to two charges of supplying a controlled substance to another person.
So, Speirs’ protestations were proven to be utter bunkum and a magistrate had no hesitation in convicting him.
If Speirs is somehow re-elected, which I sincerely doubt, how is he going to re-enter state parliament with a clear head and forward momentum for his electorate?
Despite previously being a loyal Liberal all the way to the leader’s office, he now says that going it alone will be a big bonus for the voters of Black.
“If you believe Black deserves a truly independent voice, someone who’ll fight for local families and our precious environment, without fear or favor, please share it (his video),” he concluded.
Really, or will it be a wasted vote?
His electorate may be in the heart of algal bloom territory, but I doubt Speirs the independent will have any influence whatsoever to assist the environmental dilemma, or what’s left of it.
The Labor government’s expert scientific advice on algal bloom will blow Speirs’ environmental passion, whatever that is, out of the water.
Its anticipated blinding majority after March 21 will mean Speirs, if elected, will have no voice in shaping policy over the next four years.
They essentially despise the guy for what he’s done and will continue to do so.
“There was absolutely no contrition, there was no remorse, just lies,” according to Labor’s campaign attack dog Minister Blair Boyer.
Speirs would have few friends within the hallowed halls of parliament and he knows it.
Mike Smithson is weekend newsreader and political analyst for 7News.
Want to see more stories from InDaily SA in your Google search results?
- Click here to set InDaily SA as a preferred source.
- Tick the box next to "InDaily SA". That's it.
