Koutsantonis calls on Speirs to relinquish ‘Honourable’ title after drug conviction

South Australian Labor frontbencher Tom Koutsantonis has called on former SA Liberal leader David Speirs to give up his “Honourable” title following his recent drug convictions.

Speirs, 40, was convicted in April of two counts of supplying cocaine and fined $9,000. He was also ordered to complete 37.5 hours of community service within 18 months or face jail time.

The conviction followed his guilty plea to supplying cocaine in August 2024, around the time he resigned as opposition leader.

Despite his criminal conviction and a public admission of lying about a deepfake video showing him snorting white powder, Speirs retains the title of “Honourable,” which was granted to him in May 2022 for his service as environment and water minister in the Marshall Liberal government.

Koutsantonis, the Leader of Government Business in the House of Assembly and SA Minister for Transport, said Speirs should “do the honourable thing his title implies – and relinquish it,” adding, “The onus is on him to do this before the Crown is put in the awkward position of having to remove it.”

Speirs and his lawyer declined to comment. The title can be revoked by the Governor on advice from the Premier and Cabinet Office, though it can also be surrendered voluntarily.

Liberal accountability spokesman Ben Hood dismissed Koutsantonis’ criticism, saying, “With Tom Koutsantonis spending his time looking for dirt on former MPs, it’s no wonder South Australians are paying among the highest power prices in the nation.”

He added that the opposition is focused on community concerns, not how “former politicians refer to themselves.”

Source: The Advertiser.