Former South Australian Opposition Leader Convicted of Supplying Drugs

David Speirs had pleaded guilty to 2 charges of supplying drugs to another person but asked to be discharged without conviction. The court refused.

David Speirs has resigned as leader of the Opposition in SA. Courtesy of the SA Liberal Party

The former leader of the Liberal Opposition in South Australia has lost his bid to be discharged without conviction after pleading guilty to two charges of supplying a controlled substance to another person on separate occasions in August last year.

At a previous appearance, his lawyer had asked that the court not record a conviction so his client could travel overseas, but on April 24, the magistrate declined that application and fined Speirs $9,000 and ordered that he undertake 37-and-a-half hours of community service.

Convictions were recorded on both counts.

He had been the subject of controversy after a video was published online in September 2024 showing him snorting powder from a plate through what appeared to be a rolled-up $5 note on the kitchen bench in his Kingston Park home.

At first, Speirs denied that it was him in the video, even suggesting it was a “deepfake.”

Then he issued a statement saying he had been overseas for two weeks in June, “and during that time other persons had access to my home, giving rise to the opportunity for someone to obtain footage of my premises. I am extremely disappointed by this and assure South Australians that I would never take illicit substances. I never have, and I never will.”

Later that month, he was arrested on the two charges, which police say are unrelated to the video and date back to when Speirs was leader of a church youth group and supplied drugs to two former members, who were teenagers at the time he first met them, and one of whom he knew had been attending Narcotics Anonymous.

Supplied On 2 Occasions

Court documents said he supplied cocaine to Peter Zubic and Andrew Sampson, both of whom “self-administered” the drug. “[Speirs] produced a rock of cocaine, crushed it on the bench top in the kitchen and ... snorted it using a rolled-up note,” it said.

“All persons present self-administered a few lines of cocaine, and when the cocaine available ran out, Speirs went to his bedroom and returned with more cocaine.”

The 40-year-old resigned from Parliament on Oct. 5, but still denied wrongdoing, saying, “I believe there’s someone pretty sinister behind this. And while I am personally devastated by what has happened, I will fight to clear my name of any allegations.”

But when the time came to appear in court for the first time in March this year, his story had changed.

Asked how he pleaded to two charges of supplying a controlled drug between Aug. 1 and 10, 2024, he admitted his guilt. Speaking to the media outside the court, he said he was “focused on moving through this process as quickly as possible, and that has influenced the approach that I’m taking.”

A month later, during sentencing submissions, defence barrister William Mickan said Speirs started experiencing “acute and immense stress” after becoming the opposition leader following an election loss.

Speirs had turned to cocaine “as a form of escapism” from declining mental health caused by that pressure.

That, plus the fact Speirs had resigned “almost immediately” from both parliament and the Liberal Party once arrested, was evidence of his “contrition and remorse” and made him worthy of a discharge without conviction, Mickan argued.

Offences ‘Too Serious’ For Discharge

But Magistrate Brian Nitschke said in his sentencing remarks that while job stress might explain Speirs’ actions, it was “certainly no excuse.”

“You well knew you were committing serious criminal offences, and yet you went ahead and committed them,” he said.

“It is notorious that the simple supply of unknown drug in this way has caused, on occasions, death or serious injury to a consumer. It is for this reason, even though in the present case the question of personal deterrence may not loom large as a sentencing consideration, the question of general deterrence does.

“Further, the courts cannot ignore the fact in recent times … the use of and supply among friends of so-called ‘party drugs’ has been on the increase.

“The community must understand the sharing of such drugs is not to be considered in the same way as sharing alcohol by buying a round of drinks or supplying a bottle to the table.”

The second supply offence was more serious than the first because Speirs had time to reflect on his actions but had continued to offend.

Speirs’ offending was “too serious” to avoid a conviction, the magistrate said, even though it may affect his ability to travel overseas, including to the United States and the UK, where he has family.