Starick: David Speirs was an accidental Liberal leader who never really wanted the job

David Speirs was the last man standing for the Liberal leadership and it showed, Paul Starick writes.

Opposition Leader David Speirs has quit the Liberals’ top job in SA. Picture: Supplied

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David Speirs was an accidental leader who fell into the top job and never really behaved like he wanted to be there.

The leadership cupboard was bare when he took over after the train wreck of the 2022 state election that deposed Steven Marshall’s government – Mr Speirs was the last man standing.

The best thing that can be said about Mr Speirs’ leadership was that he was, initially, a competitive, fresh-faced novice who represented a new generation for his party.

But he was ill-prepared for the role of alternative premier – and this showed far too often throughout his 839-day reign.

Outgoing Liberal leader David Speirs became renowned for snarky speeches. Picture: NCA NewsWire / David Mariuz

Mr Speirs dismayed traditional Liberal supporters at the top end of town by imperiously refusing to engage with them, preferring to cast himself as an battling outsider from the southern suburbs.

He became renowned for snarky speeches, in which he was strangely rude to influential groups like hoteliers.

Onlookers regularly noted that he appeared to be unusually disinterested in becoming Premier – surely the chief motivational force for an ambitious Opposition Leader to get out of bed every morning.

David Speirs as the newly-elected Opposition Leader after the 2022 ballot. Picture: NCA NewsWire / David Mariuz

Other influential Adelaide figures bemoaned the lack of substantive policy, particularly on the economic front during a cost-of-living crisis.

Mr Speirs, however, appeared convinced that repeatedly attacking Premier Peter Malinauskas over a failure to “fix the ramping crisis” was achieving stunning success. It smacked of repeating the battles of the past election – like Kim Beazley’s failed GST rollback policy at the 2001 federal election.

Under Mr Speirs, the Liberals did not produce any substantive policy to distinguish themselves from the Malinauskas Labor government.

In fact, Mr Malinauskas has worked assiduously to muscle in on large elements of the Liberal business base.

Whoever replaces Mr Speirs faces an uphill battle to avoid the electoral wipe-out to which it seemed he was inexorably leading them.

Opposition Leader David Speirs and health spokeswoman Ashton Hurn at a Parliament House in 2022. Picture: NCA NewsWire/Emma Brasier

The best contender, Ashton Hurn, does not want the top job – yet. The Liberal health spokeswoman, who has turned the ramping issue from a negative to a positive for her party, is on maternity leave from her front bench role until November.

Mr Speirs’ deputy, John Gardner, is a leader of the Moderate faction, which holds the numbers in state parliament.

A clever parliamentary tactician and strategist, he likely will be thrust into the top job as a stopgap measure.

Undoubtedly, Labor is beatable at the next election, on March 21, 2026. Mr Malinauskas knows how quickly political fortunes can change, with devastating impact.

But the Liberals are at their lowest ebb in generations, both in terms of morale and numbers.

Ms Hurn will have to hope there is more than a cricket team to lead after the 2026 election. The next Liberal premier might not yet be even in the parliament.

Originally published as Starick: David Speirs was an accidental Liberal leader who never really wanted the job