Both major parties in South Australia have said they would preference former opposition leader David Speirs last at the state election, as he ruled out returning to the Liberal Party.Â
Speirs, who was convicted of drug supply charges last year, announced on Friday that he has nominated for his old seat of Black in Adelaide’s southern coastal suburbs.
Today, the former Liberal MP emphatically ruled out rejoining the party if re-elected, promising to remain an independent for as long as he is in office.
“I have no interest in rejoining the Liberal Party this term and any future term,” he told ABC News.
He said he re-entered the race, with just three weeks to go, because he “couldn’t die wondering”.
He also promised to release policy ideas through the campaign and hoped that, along with his profile within the community, would see him re-elected.
While Spiers said his nomination has been accepted, the Electoral Commission of South Australia (ECSA) said the formal list of candidates would not be revealed until Monday.
Josh Teague says the Liberal Party has been clear “straight away” about their position on David Speirs. (ABC News)
Deputy leader of the opposition Josh Teague said SA Liberals would be preferencing Speirs last and backed the party’s candidate for Black, Rhees Bishop.
“That decision, which we’ve been clear about straight away, that will be preferencing David Speirs last is a consequence of those very serious circumstances that have found their way through the courts,” he said.
“Having seen reports just overnight David Speirs has indicated he will be contesting the election, we’ve been very straightforward about our position straight away about that.
“Our state executive has met and has made that decision, and it’s important that that process continues.”
Your Say: Tell us what matters to you this SA election
Mr Teague said bringing Speirs back to the Liberal fold was not “a matter for consideration” and remained “a complete hypothetical”.
Labor MP Blair Boyer, whose party also preferenced Speirs last, said he welcomed the Liberals’ call but questioned why the decision came days before the election.
“I asked the question about why it’s taken so long, why that [preference] couldn’t have been ruled out months and months and months ago,” he said.
‘Where is the line drawn?’
Mr Boyer raised concerns about whether a person convicted of a crime could be eligible to run for election.
“There is a conversation that needs to be had here about whether someone who has been found guilty of such serious crimes as the ones David Speirs has been found guilty of should be even able to run or potentially sit in the South Australian parliament again,” he said.
“I understand … it is a system of democracy where people choose their member of parliament but I don’t think anyone would suggest that anyone should be able to sit in [parliament] no matter what they might have been found guilty of.Â
“The question will always remain: where is the line drawn? I think this has brought into sharp focus where that line may or may not be.”
Blair Boyer says the SA Labor has ruled out preferencing David Speirs. (ABC News: Daniel Taylor)
In a statement today, the ECSA said candidates contesting the state election “will be publicly declared at 3pm on 2 March 2026”.
Last month, the commission said Speirs would not be eligible for public campaign funding because “he would not [if applied for] fulfil the nomination requirements”.
“If a person/potential candidate has a conviction of an indictable offence they would be ineligible to nominate,” an ECSA spokesperson said.
Following the statement, Speirs said he believed there was a “pathway” for him to run.
In a further statement, ECSA said it was unable to comment on nominations during the nomination process.
“Candidates contesting the election will be publicly declared by the Electoral Commission on the second of March,” Commissioner Mick Sherry said.
David Speirs’s comeback attempt is a risk for everyone — including himself
Speirs was first elected to state parliament as a Liberal member in 2014 and served as environment minister before becoming leader in the wake of the party’s 2022 election loss.
He stepped down from the top job and quit parliament in 2024 after he was charged with drug offences.
He later pleaded guilty to two counts of supplying a controlled drug and was convicted and fined $9,000.
His resignation triggered a by-election in his former seat of Black, which was won by Labor candidate Alex Dighton with a 12.6 per swing in November 2024.
What do the voters think?
The ABC visited the electorate of Black on Saturday to speak with voters, some of whom were forgiving of Speirs’s past.
Some voters in the electorate of Black, like Barbara Miller, were sympathatic to David Speirs. (ABC News: Lincoln Rothall)
Barbara Miller said she had been a Labor voter all her life but had voted for Speirs previously.
“He did such good things for this area. He was always at everything, got a regular monthly newsletter and he was supportive of everything in his community,” she said.
“I thought basically he was a good person other than that [drug conviction], that was just an unfortunate thing that he did.”
Local resident Lee Silvester said he had “no issues” with Speirs choosing to run for election but he had yet to decide who to vote for.
“I don’t believe everything I hear and I think there’s more to the story than what we know, I’d be open to listen to anyone,” he said.
Lee Silvester says he is not against David Speirs running for election. (ABC News: Lincoln Rothall)
Another constituent Aaron Noble said he was considering voting for Speirs, adding the convictions did not change his views. Â
“I still like him as a person so go for it,” he said.
“He’s a local person, knows the area well.”
Local Joel said Speirs was not “your standard politician”.
“We still at least respect him a little bit … technically he was a politician but he didn’t act like one,” he said.
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