Former SA opposition leader David Speirs to be absent from Tuesday parliament sittings

There will be an empty seat where former opposition leader David Speirs should sit today in state parliament, as the premier weighs in on the claims a white powder video is a hoax.

Former Opposition Leader David Speirs will not attend state parliament on Tuesday, after The Advertiser revealed a video of him appearing to snort white powder that he says is a “deepfake”.

The Advertiser has confirmed Mr Speirs has been paired against an absent government minister — a parliamentary agreement when opposing MPs are away.

This pair means the Liberals have agreed that Mr Speirs will be absent from parliament on Tuesday, which would have been his first sitting day since he quit as Opposition Leader on August 8.

It has not been confirmed whether Mr Speirs will be absent for parliamentary sitting days on Wednesday and Thursday, although this is considered likely.

Labor sources emphasised that they had asked for pairs for Treasurer Stephen Mullighan and Education Minister Blair Boyer, but who the Liberals used to grant that pair was a matter for the Liberals, not the government.

Premier Peter Malinauskas has branded as “all a bit breathtaking” an image of David Speirs appearing to snort white powder that the former opposition leader has labelled a “deepfake”.

Asked if the video and images should be investigated by police if they were a “deepfake”, Mr Malinauskas said: “There’s a big if there, isn’t there?”

Mr Malinauskas insisted the images were exclusively a matter for fledgling Opposition Leader Vincent Tarzia, who replaced Mr Speirs in the top Liberal job, and accused his opponents of dysfunction, division and chaos.

Peter Malinauskas has responded to the video of David Speirs. Picture: NewsWire / David Beach

“It’s all a bit breathtaking. The images that we see on the front page of The Advertiser this morning are concerning, but they are a matter that are exclusively for Vincent Tarzia and the South Australian division of the Liberal Party,” he said.

“The dysfunction, the division, the chaos – that is a matter for Vincent Tarzia and the Liberal Party.”

Asked if Mr Speirs should be investigated under an MP code of conduct, Mr Malinauskas said: “The short answer to that is not yet, no. I think there’s a whole range of questions for Vincent Tarzia to answer here.”

Asked if it was deeply concerning regardless of whether the video was fake or real, Mr Malinauskas said: “I think that goes without saying.”