One day after former South Australian opposition leader David Speirs faced court to answer drug charges, his previous constituents are voting to choose a replacement in the Adelaide seat of Black.
His downfall has been swift.
A little over three months ago, Speirs was the state leader of the Liberal Party, peppering Peter Malinauskas’ government with daily criticism of its perceived policy failures and prepping his party ahead of the 2026 state election.
But after leadership speculation began swirling, he announced in August he had a “gutful” of the rumours and did not have the energy to keep fighting, stepping down as leader.
In September, News Corp published a video purportedly showing Speirs snorting a powder - which he dismissed as a “deep fake”.
In October, he announced he was quitting parliament and then the final bombshell: Speirs was charged with two counts of supplying a controlled substance.
On Friday, he appeared in court for the first time to answer those charges and was given permission to travel overseas before his next appearance in March.
It’s hard to gauge whether Speirs’ dramatic final months as an MP will influence his former constituents’ voting intentions in the by-election for the mortgage-belt seat, which covers southern suburbs including Hallett Cove and Sheidow Park .
The Liberals are trying to move on, focusing on their candidate, Holdfast Bay mayor Amanda Wilson, who says she entered council for environmental reasons and now wants to “have a look at the bigger picture and the larger issues that affect our state”.
Her pitches to voters are at a grassroots level, ranging from an $11 million commitment for a seaside pool if the Liberals are elected in 2026, to drinking fountains at a local football club.
Ms Wilson also says she believes MPs should be subject to drug testing “randomly, the same as what tradies have”.
“People are concerned that there is a decline in democracy and that politicians aren't as respected as what they used to be,” she told ABC Radio.
The Malinauskas Labor government is sticking with the same candidate it took to the 2022 election - high school teacher Alex Dighton.
Mr Dighton contested the seat against Speirs and cut the Liberals’ two party-preferred margin from 9.2 per cent to 2.7 per cent, or just over 1300 votes.
He can already point to two promises delivered by the government since his previous campaign - a freeway connector and sports complex redevelopment, and the government has also boosted his campaign by promising the area’s first 24/7 pharmacy.
The Greens’ Sarah Luscombe and Australian Family First’s Jonathan Parkin are also on the ballot and their preferences could play a role in a tight contest.
A win for the Liberals would shore up Opposition Leader Vincent Tarzia’s new leadership, while a Labor win would be only the second time an SA government has taken a seat from the opposition at a by-election in more than 116 years.
The first was in March, when Labor’s Cressida Hanlon narrowly won the seat of Dunstan, after former Liberal leader Steven Marshall resigned from parliament in February.
The result will carry no immediate political consequences in parliament but could be a useful barometer for both sides ahead of the March 2026 state election.
