From GetUp!, Lock the Gate and #StopAdani to volunteering for #MackellarVotes Dr Scamps: Joy Nason’s story

Bio
Latest Posts
More info

Joy Nason

Born in England, Joy Nason has lived in Mona Vale in the electorate of Mackellar since March 2018, after 20 years in Neutral Bay in Warringah. She was a TAFE teacher for 42 years in the Business Administration department, commencing in 1979, the first 19 full-time, then 19 part-time, then 4 years as a notetaker/scribe for the Disabilities Unit. She retired in November 2020. I was a Primary Ethics volunteer teacher for four years at Chatswood Public School 2013 - 2016. Joy has a long history of activism and fighting for justice motivated by her experiences growing up in an extreme fundamentalist religious sect.

Latest posts by Joy Nason (see all)

From GetUp!, Lock the Gate and #StopAdani to volunteering for #MackellarVotes Dr Scamps: Joy Nason’s story - 17 June 2022

I BECAME POLITICALLY active before the 2007 Federal Election, after the community activist movement GetUp! established. GetUp had a small office in Drummoyne with a campaign objective of unseating John Howard, then Prime Minister, from Bennelong. I collected How-to-Vote cards from GetUp and with some friends, door-knocked and letter-box dropped over several weekends in the Bennelong electorate.

This campaign was close to my heart due to my experience growing up in the Exclusive Brethren. My 2015 memoir Joy & Sorrow, the Story of an Exclusive Brethren Survivor, with a foreword by the Investigative Journalist for The Age Michael Bachelard, tells the story. The Exclusive Brethren secretly donated money to the Howard Government for the 2007 election, and John Howard’s overthrow was a sweet victory for me.

I remained involved with GetUp from 2007 to 2019. In each federal election campaign I was a front-line volunteer for GetUp in many roles – booth captain, booth coordinator, door-knocker, phone-banker, and for several years I was a volunteer front-desk receptionist at GetUp HQ in Pitt Street, Sydney. From 2017 to 2019 I helped run the GetUp Mackellar Action Group (MAG), now defunct.

I was also involved with #LocktheGate, particularly as a phone volunteer, and in the #StopAdani movement.

Soon after moving to Mona Vale in 2018, I joined the Northern Beaches Climate Action Network and helped Nigel Howard, the NBCAN FB Coordinator, run an annual NBCAN Picnic at Narrabeen Lagoon, where spokespeople from 30 progressive groups in the area addressed attendees.

At the September NBCAN picnic I learned that the Voices of Mackellar (VOM) movement had been formed by Sophie Scamps, Anyo Geddes, Rebecca Clarke and Leonie Scarlett. To me, following the lead of Indi and Warringah was the only way to achieve similar success in Mackellar.

I volunteered with VOM doing various tasks like letter-box drops, then became a VOM Scribe, scribing for Kitchen Table Conversations (KTCs) both face-to-face and online until Dr Sophie launched her Independent Campaign in December 2021.

When Mackellar Rising was formed to find a candidate I handed out leaflets and conversed with more Mackellar constituents.

NBCAN also initiated the Candidates Forums for Mackellar and Warringah held in May. I was delighted to be part of the organizational team.

When Dr Sophie’s campaign launched I threw myself into her campaign as a volunteer.

Sophie Scamps and Joy Nason – Winning #MackellarVotes

I was worried that my previous connection with GetUp might preclude me from being a volunteer with Dr Sophie’s campaign team because of negative public perceptions re GetUp. I asked both Dr Sophie and Mark Connelly of Populares about this and both assured me there was no problem. So I door-knocked, letter-box dropped, phone-called, banner waved and street listened. ing, etc etc.

It was the best experience of my life.

When Anthony Green called for Dr Sophie on the night of 21 May 2022, my euphoria knew no bounds.

To wrap up this wonderful experience, on 31 May I went with VOPM co-founder Rebecca Clarke to Canberra to deliver Mackellar Independents ephemera to the National Library for their archival collection. On Thursday 9 June, I made a similar delivery to the NSW State Library in Macquarie Street.

I’m now totally involved in organising the upcoming NBCAN Soapbox event at the CEC North Narrabeen, to be held from 2 to 5 pm on Sunday 26 June.