David Speirs formally resigns from parliament
Former Opposition leader David Speirs has officially resigned from parliament, triggering a by-election for his marginal southern suburbs seat of Black.
House Speaker Leon Bignell confirmed a short time ago that he had received Speirs’ resignation this afternoon.
Speirs did not appear in parliament today or deliver a valedictory address.
“I have this afternoon received the resignation from the Member for Black, the Hon David Speirs MP,” Bignell said in a statement.
“Tomorrow, I will announce the resignation in the House of Assembly and confirm a suitable date for a by-election in the Electorate of Black.
“I will make this statement having regard to section 47 and 130A of the Electoral Act 1985 South Australia.”
In his resignation letter to the speaker, Speirs wrote: “It has been the greatest privilege of my life to service my community as a representative in the House of Assembly and I wish all members success as they seek to do their very best for the state of South Australia.”
Speirs flagged his intention to resign from parliament in an October 5 video message where he revealed he had been arrested in a police raid.
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Later that day, SA Police confirmed they arrested Speirs in Berri on September 26 and charged him with two counts of supplying a controlled substance. He was given police bail and will appear in the Christies Beach Magistrates Court on November 15.
Speirs has vowed to “fight to clear my name of any allegations”.
Bignell will announce the date of the Black by-election following advice from the Electoral Commissioner.
The earliest a by-election could be held is Saturday, November 16 – a day after Speirs’ court appearance and the weekend of the Adelaide 500 – although November 23 and 30 are other possible dates.
InDaily has been told November 16 and 23 are more likely because there are no mandatory parliamentary sitting weeks after November 30, which could create complications swearing in a newly elected Black MP before next year.
Premier Peter Malinauskas said last week that we “don’t want to have a by-election in the immediate lead up to Christmas”, adding: “We would anticipate it would be some time in November or early December.”
The Labor Party has preselected Sacred Heart deputy principal Alex Dighton for Black while the Liberal Party is backing Holdfast Bay Mayor Amanda Wilson.
Opposition leader Vincent Tarzia, asked this afternoon if he was relieved David Speirs was resigning from parliament, said: “These things are always challenging – it’s been a really challenging time.”
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“But I think what the people of Black want is a hardworking, committed representative for them, and I know that that’ll be Amanda Wilson if she’s given the opportunity to be the member for Black,” he said.
Asked if he had been in contact with Speirs today, Tarzia said: “I’ve been in contact with David from time to time.”
“It’s obviously been a challenging time for him, and obviously I spoke to him last weekend.
“We’ve also exchanged some texts as well.
“It’s been a challenging period for David. At the same time, David’s also been a hard-working member for that community. He’s got a number of runs on the board for that community.”
Speirs entered parliament in 2014 and was the Minister for Environment and Water from 2018 to 2022.
He took on the role of Opposition leader after the Marshall Government’s 2022 election defeat, standing as a factionally unaligned candidate to win 18 votes to five over moderate MP Josh Teague.
But his tenure as leader was marred by factional infighting, with an emboldened Right-faction led by conservative senator Alex Antic exerting increased influence on the party’s internal functions.
He leadership also suffered a significant blow when the Liberal Party lost the Dunstan by-election in March. Speirs later admitted he considered resigning after that result.
He eventually resigned the leadership on August 8, saying he “had a gutful” of leaks and undermining”, and then went on to be a frequent critic of Opposition leader Vincent Tarzia and the state of the Liberal Party.
The Advertiser then published a video on September 9 which appeared to show Speirs sniffing powder from a plate. Speirs said at the time the video was a “deepfake or elaborate hoax” before going on mental health leave on September 11.
The Liberal Party holds Black on a 2.8 per cent margin over Labor, but Speirs’ absence is widely considered to make the seat more winnable for Labor.
Speirs held the seat against Dighton in 2022 by around 1300 votes.
