David Speirs Cancelled Me
The title of this article is not an exaggeration, it truly is the stuff of Greek tragedy.
My local member for Black has blocked my personal Instagram account. Though I can’t say I’m surprised, it is disappointing to see an elected representative so fearful of criticism or opposing ideas. Speirs has built a career off of opposing ‘the woke agenda’, and despite his seemingly progressive environmental front, is a socially-conservative leader with little discernment from his predecessors. In his recent Instagram story about the new Public Holidays Act (2023), Speirs claimed he was fighting ‘political correctness gone mad.’ Since then, his latest crusade has been Instagram comment censorship and blocking me.
I must have posted something truly heinous to warrant such immediate and reactionary measures be taken. Had I threatened, abused, or otherwise infringed upon the standards of online correspondence, I would support Speirs’ decision. However, no such offence transpired. Rather, Speirs blocked me for a few critical comments I made on his post, and a story I posted that reiterated my appraisal. For a man so fixated on cancel culture, it looks a hell of a lot like I was just cancelled by David Speirs.
So, What Happened?
The Malinauskas Government's Public Holidays Act (2023) was introduced on November 28th, and will replace the Holidays Act (1910) effective January 2024. The key difference between them is that the new Act does not name ANZAC Day, Christmas, or New Year’s Day. Instead, they are April 25th, December 25th, and January 1st respectively.
According to SafeWork SA, ‘public consultation on these changes were held earlier this year’, meaning these changes are far from the bombshell Speirs is making them out to be. It is important to note that not all public holiday titles were removed. Easter Saturday and Sunday (as well as all holidays with dates that change) retained their titles. Further, the term ‘ANZAC Day’ hasn’t been completely wiped from legislation. The ANZAC Day Commemoration Act (2005) remains, and the holiday will continue to be recognised in South Australia.
Referring to holidays in legislation by their date instead of their title is nothing new. In the Holidays Act, the King’s Birthday is referred to as ‘the second Monday in June’, and monarchists have never kicked up a fuss about that. Other concerns arose from the date of so-called ‘Australia Day’ changing. Those worried about this will be pleased to know the Holidays Act also refers to this day as ‘January 26’, not ‘Australia Day’ (meaning the caption in Speirs’ latest post hosts some misinformation). The Public Holidays Act was introduced to close legal loopholes and ensure workers will always receive penalty rates on public holidays. According to SafeWork SA:
‘Previously, when Christmas Day fell on a Saturday, the public holiday moved to the following Monday instead. This meant some workers did not receive public holiday rates when rostered to work away from their families and loved ones on Christmas Day.’
On November 28th, Speirs’ Liberals introduced amendments that would see Easter Saturday lose its status as a public holiday, which would mean workers would lose out on penalty rates. A similar move was employed by Marshall’s Liberal Government in 2021 in an attempt to revoke Christmas’ status as a public holiday. Attorney-General Kyam Mayer called Speirs’ amendments ‘a desperate, last-minute attempt to strip workers of their hard-earned public holiday penalty rates’.
Speirs, on the other hand, chose to focus his social media crusade on ‘political correctness gone mad’ by opposing holidays being referred to by their dates in legislation (because apparently he hasn’t read the Holidays Act). Christian holidays are still recognised, but the Grinch stole Christmas by calling it December 25th. In his post, Speirs failed to mention his amendments which would have axed Easter Saturday as a public holiday.
I, as any politically involved individual in the digital age would, reposted his post to my story with some cheeky commentary. Sadly, my story post was lost when Speirs blocked me and got my story taken down. For good measure, he also deleted all my comments (and other comments disagreeing with him, because apparently his big issue is freedom of speech). Luckily, I have some photos of my comments before they were deleted. You can see for yourself how inflammatory they were.
My History With Speirs
In the interest of fair and objective journalism, I will declare that this is not my first interaction with Speirs. I am one of his constituents, and have called his office before. Most notably, Speirs has actually DM’d me on Instagram in the past on the very same account he has now blocked. From November 13th-17th, I studied outside Parliament Steps during my exam week with the SA Youth Climate Alliance (SAYCA). We sat in solidarity with thousands of students across Australia who walked out of school to ask for stronger climate action.
You can check the ‘study-in’ out on BTN, and on ABC’s The Drum November 17th episode. The action was peaceful, and powerful. We had a simple ask: no new fossil fuel projects. I took to social media (and chalking outside Parliament House), asking politicians to come speak to us since it was a sitting week. To his credit, Speirs did show up after our DM exchange. He spoke about all he could do if South Australians elected a Liberal Government (in 2026, so we’re thrown to the dogs until then) and made no real commitments. Unlike the Deputy Premier, or the Minister for Energy (just some of the politicians who visited us), Speirs showed up with a team of advisors in tow ready to steer him away if he encountered any trouble. No politician except Speirs felt the need to bring their advisors when meeting schoolchildren.
The Big Question
So, should politicians be able to block their constituents? The clear answer is no. There is persuasive precedent from the United States, and numerous experts who oppose politicians blocking constituents. This is especially pertinent, given Speirs’ history of getting grumpy on the gram.
As public servants and elected representatives, it is unethical to censor opposing opinions. The comment section of your average politician is a carefully constructed ecosystem of echo chambers. Speirs leaves a few critics, but deletes any ideas he is too inept to counter. Professor Gelber told the ABC that politicians ‘shouldn't be allowed to block someone just because they disagree or because they're criticising you’, which is precisely what Speirs did when he blocked me.
‘What we're seeing in Australian politics right now is a decreasing awareness on the part of politicians that democracy requires robust criticism and that people have the right to engage in very robust criticism of government. [...] Government needs to have a thick skin and wear it, because that's how democracy works and instead what we're seeing is politicians not liking what someone is saying and blocking them.’
In the United States, a Federal Appeals Court ruled that former President Donald Trump could not block people from his Twitter account, since he was conducting government business on it. In Knight Institute v Trump, the court found that Trump’s blocking violated the First Amendment’s protection of Freedom of Speech.
It is more complicated for us here. We have no Bill or Charter of Rights, and freedom of speech is not explicitly protected. Read more about that here. However, just because it is legal, does not make it moral. As a constituent, I deserve to know what Speirs is up to. His social media is the easiest way to consistently keep abreast of his actions in the Black electorate.
You reap what you sow. If Speirs wishes to share political news (such as his proposed amendments to the Public Holidays Act), he should understand that blocking constituents is poor form. More and more people are using social media to follow politicians, so politicians have a duty to keep that information accessible, and avoid arbitrary blocking.
What Can I Do?
If you’re looking to join me on my wholly ridiculous crusade to be unblocked by Speirs, send him an email! Here is an email template to kindly ask his office to unblock @harperforsythe on Instagram. Call Speirs’ electorate office at 08 8296 9833 and his Parliament House office at 08 8237 9137. His behaviour is ludicrous and childish, and we need to continue to hold our representatives to higher standards than this. Comment on his Instagram posts (@davidspeirsmp) and call him out for deleting comments that oppose his beliefs. DM him into oblivion. Lord knows he will probably answer, since he clearly doesn’t spend his time bettering the community.
Finally, if you liked this torrid tale, subscribe to my Substack. I’ve been working on a David Speirs hit piece that will make you laugh and then cry when you remember he makes a salary of at least $175, 000.
Please, share this post around! Encourage healthy debate and mocking of politicians online!
The Takeaway
Politicians shouldn’t block constituents on social media. It’s petty and bizarre, which Speirs has proven himself to be. But hey, at least I wasn’t beheaded, right?