Former SA Opposition leader David Speirs faces sentencing submissions in Adelaide court on cocaine charges

The former Liberal leader has faced court with an explanation for the now infamous “white powder” scandal that ended his political career.

It was an “elaborate hoax”, a “deepfake” and criminal defamation – or so former Opposition leader David Speirs claimed when video emerged of him appearing to snort white powder.

Then it was “someone pretty sinister” using “state government power” against “a political opponent”, once he was arrested and charged with drug offending.

On Friday, having finally acknowledged his guilt, the one-time alternative premier of SA faced the Adelaide Magistrates Court and and asked he be spared a conviction for supplying two friends with cocaine.

His lawyer argued Speirs turned to cocaine as “a form of escapism” from declining mental health caused by the “extreme pressure” of taking over the Liberal Party following a disastrous election loss.

The “benefit to Mr Speirs” of being allowed to live and travel without a mark on his permanent record, he said, “outweighed the public’s interest” in him being convicted.

Director of Public Prosecutions Martin Hinton KC, however, said that was not the case.

“Parliament makes the laws, debates and determines how we should all conduct ourselves,” he said.

Former opposition leader David Speirs outside of court in Adelaide. Picture: RoyVPhotography

“So when you conduct yourself in a manner so totally inconsistent with what your public duty is, you undermine the Parliament, what it stands for and the public trust we instil in parliamentarians.

“There’s an element of hypocrisy in coming into this court and saying ‘don’t apply those laws to me’.

“That’s why general deterrence and denunciation remain particularly important in imposing penalty, here, where he took drugs in a ‘safe environment’ with friends - you might think ‘supposed friends’, but nonetheless.”

Last month, Speirs pleaded guilty to two counts of having supplied a controlled drug, other than cannabis, to two different individuals between August 1 and 10, 2024.

He was leader of the Opposition, held press conferences and attended public events – including the Midwinter Ball – during that period, resigning on August 8.

Speirs’ arrest was made public a month after The Advertiser published a video of him appearing to snort white powder in his Kingston Park kitchen on June 30, 2024.

The images that started the white powder scandal when revealed in The Advertiser.

The images that started the white powder scandal when revealed in The Advertiser.

He has claimed the video is a deepfake, while a top forensic analyst concluded it was “authentic” with no evidence of tampering.

On Friday, Mr Hinton said Speirs’ offending was “at the lower end of the scale”, but “nonetheless serious”.

He said Speirs had communicated with the other two individuals, via social media, to organise “a meeting”.

Those men, he said, were existing users of drugs and “were aware drugs would be there, and would be made available by” Speirs.

“The fact is it (cocaine) was there, they knew it would be there, they had previously taken it, it was on offer from him (Speirs) and they took it,” he said.

“It was not spontaneous.”

Speirs had, he said “perpetrated” the risk of harm, caused by drug use, to both the other men and to himself, as well as “feeding the illicit market”.

The stresses Speirs was experiencing were, he said, no different to many others facing drug charges - and so he, like they, should earn no leniency for them.

William Mickan, for Speirs, said his client had previously dealt with stress through outdoor exercise, but lost the opportunity to do so when he became Opposition leader.

Speirs was, he said, “introduced to the drug” in June 2024 “by a third party” and, in “an aberration of character”, turned to it as a “maladaptive coping mechanism”.

“He took it in the hope of seeing how the drug would affect his poor mental health,” he said.

“He used cocaine on several occasions, including the charged offences, as a means of escapism (and) did so socially in pursuit of that escapism.”

Mr Mickan said medical reports had concluded Speirs was “not addicted” to cocaine, bolstering the rehabilitative prospects of a man with no prior criminal history “whatsoever”.

Speirs had, he said, done “what he could once the offending came to light”, including resigning “almost immediately” from both Parliament and the Liberal Party, which was demonstrative of his contrition and remorse.

He asked the court to account, in sentencing, for the “suffering, embarrassment and humiliation” Speirs had experienced through media attention around the country.

However, he also conceded there was “nothing wrong with the reporting”, and that it had been done “in the public interest” while “destroying” his reputation and further harming his mental health.

“The extracurial punishment is significant (and) the benefit to Speirs in not recording a conviction outweighs the public interest in recording a conviction,” he said.

“The reporting is not because of the offending, it’s because of who he is... that’s punishment extra to the penalty this court will impose.”

Mr Mickan said the media attention had also functioned as “a deterrent”, reducing Speirs’ prospects of reoffending - as had having to tell his parents.

“He feels like he has betrayed his friends and family as well as the wider public (and) he has had to explain, to his parents, his conduct,” he said.

“That conduct is foreign to them... the fact he has disappointed his parents his a very real reminder of the impact of his offending.”

He said Speirs had voluntarily submitted to a drug testing regime, returning only negative results, which proved his “substantial rehabilitation”.

Speirs had “excellent” future prospects, he said, including running charitable groups for conservation and men’s mental health, including a Kokoda Trail walk.

That trip - as well as planned visits to family in Scotland and the US - could rely on Speirs not being convicted, he said, as did his client’s job prospects.

Mr Hinton urged Magistrate Brian Nitschke to reject the plea for leniency.

“Speirs did not cease using cocaine voluntarily, and this is nor just an aberration,” he said.

“He was introduced to it, he turned to it, he continued with it, he was quite happy to take it with friends.

“The media did not destroy this man’s reputation - he did.”

Mr Nitschke remanded Speirs on continuing bail for sentencing in two weeks’ time.