Liberal MP David Speirs unloads on political advisers as lazy and overweight

A LIBERAL MP who worked in Premier Jay Weatherill’s department has lashed political advisers as a lazy, overweight, underqualified and arrogant species that needs to be culled back.

27/03/14. New Liberal members of parliament David Speirs (Bright) and Corey Wingard (Mitchell) outside the Marion Aquatic Centre. Pic. Noelle Bobrige

A LIBERAL MP who worked in Premier Jay Weatherill’s department has lashed political advisers as a lazy, overweight, underqualified and arrogant species that needs to be culled back.

In a blistering speech to State Parliament today, Liberal MP David Speirs has laid into Labor staffers and former colleagues he characterised as being out of touch inner-city trendies.

Mr Speirs said he respected public servants, but taxpayers were also employing a large number of political staff who lived in a “murky half-world” and spawn from a “reduced gene pool”.

He said these people should go by the Latin name Adviserous Horribilis.

“Their habitat is a murky half-world, a purgatory somewhere between public service and political office,” Mr Speirs said.

“(They are) usually underqualified and overly confident, largely aged 25 to 35 (and) characterised by having the log-in details of multiple fake Twitter accounts.”

They drank at small bars, indulged in fatty, sugary foods and were chameleon-like “with the unique ability to change their skins, depending on the location of the safe seat they aspire to”.

Mr Speirs said they were often seen in open plan offices, “enabling them to throw foam footballs to one another”, and sometimes in Parliament for their favourite sport of Question Time.

“They are for sure an interesting pest, an overabundant species, to use the latest vernacular from the environment department,” he said.

“As observers of the environment department would know, whether it is corellas or fur seals, this government is loathe to deal with overabundant creatures.

“I am not an advocate for slashing the public service, but I am an advocate for slashing the use of political advisers.

“These guys and girls come up with advice, but it really does not need to be good advice. Advice is a very subjective term, so it can just be advice.

“They will make changes for the sake of change, just to justify their existence and remind themselves that, despite having dropped out of the arts degree to concentrate on student politics, they are geniuses, masters of political strategy, and so they tell themselves a hundred times a day that they are normal ... and lucky to have landed jobs serving the good folk of South Australia.”

Mr Speirs said he aspired to a past time when ministers had just one adviser.

“Advisers are a social species, particularly due to the increasing numbers of them,” he said.

“Back before they had government protection they were actually a threatened species, like the bare-rumped sheath tail bat or the Gilbert’s Potoroo, both on the EPBC critically endangered list.

“Can you believe it? How did government survive?”

Mr Speirs is expected to add to his remarks when supply bill debate resumes in coming days.

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