Environment Minister David Speirs tells fellow Liberals he’s had enough of dealing with ‘crazy leftie activists’ and ‘Greta Thunbergs’

The Environment Minister has stood by controversial comments that he is being worn down by “crazy leftie activists” – asking how many “SA Greta Thunbergs” anyone could take.

Environment Minister David Speirs wants a change of portfolio, saying “crazy leftie activists” are wearing him down.

“There’s only so many times you can deal with the Greta Thunbergs of South Australia,” he told supporters at a private Liberal Party fundraising event on Monday night.

He suggested supporters who thought he was destined for higher things after losing the ballot for deputy leader should lobby for him.

“I like this (environment) portfolio but if you want to have a quiet chat with the Premier about other opportunities then I am happy for you to do so,” he quipped.

He told supporters the problem with the portfolio “are the crazy leftie activists, they do wear you down after a while so I think every few years you need to see a bit of a refresh because there’s only so many times you can deal with the Greta Thunbergs of South Australia”.

Asked about the comments on radio on Wednesday morning, Mr Speirs said he stood by them “110 per cent”.

I”m a self deprecating sort of person, I went at it from a different angle, I talked about the good the bad and the ugly. But the whole tenor or the speech was how much I love this portfolio. I love this job, I’m not going to do it forever though,” he told ABC Radio Adelaide on Wednesday.

Environment Minister David Speirs made unguarded comments at a private Liberal Party fundraiser. Picture: Roy VanDerVegt

In other candid comments, he said climate change activism was full of “noise and crap” promoted by left activists, while strongly promoting the practical work the government had done to deal with issues including a move to full renewables.

“I think there’s a lot of noise and crap around climate change because all the ills of the world are put in the climate change basket by the left of politics,” he said.

“There are a lot of myths and nonsense.”

He stressed there is firm science about reducing emissions to reduce warming.

“Of course the worry is we get our house in order but major polluters liked China and India and the US to an extent are real laggers on this,” he said.

“People say to me that’s a reason for not doing anything, I think it is quite the opposite, we can show leadership.”

He also called parklands activists “elitists”, saying parklands should attract people with sport and culture.

Opposition environment spokeswoman Susan Close seized on reports of the remark as “incredibly embarrassing for David Speirs less than a week after he lost the ballot for the deputy leadership”.

“His disparaging comments about those who care about our environment and the parklands confirm he should not be the Minister for the Environment,” she said.

Mr Speirs replied in parliament that practical solutions were better than activists glueing themselves to roads.

AN EXTRACT FROM HANSARD

Question Time, November 30, 2021

Dr CLOSE (Deputy Leader of the Opposition) (14:19): 
My question is to the Premier. Does the Premier agree that the Swedish climate change activist Greta Thunberg is a powerful voice for action on climate change?

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL (Premier) (14:19): 
I am familiar with all of the work of the person that you refer to. I know that she has a high public profile but I am not quite sure how this has got anything to do with my portfolios.

Dr CLOSE (Deputy Leader of the Opposition) (14:19): 
My question is to the Minister for Environment and Water. Did the minister tell an audience at a Liberal fundraising event last night that he was sick of being hounded by the Greta Thunbergs of South Australia? With your leave and that of the house I will explain.

The opposition has been advised that the minister told an audience at the FutureSA event at Rydges Hotel that as environment minister he was sick of being hounded by the Greta Thunbergs of South Australia.

The Hon. D.J. SPEIRS (Minister for Environment and Water) (14:20):
I may have said something like that, absolutely, but I believe I was making a comparison between the practical response to the great challenges of climate change and the poster-waving activism which doesn't lead to outcomes, such as gluing oneself to Flinders Street outside the headquarters of Santos or stringing oneself up in Victoria Square, as some activists did recently.

I also, I think, made the point that practical action and adaption and reduction of emissions and taking that action in a serious way was so much more important than simply posting a video on YouTube or liking a Twitter post or a Facebook post. My comparison actually included saying in my contribution last night how South Australians should be proud of the bipartisan policy platform that had been forged since around about 2005.