Sophie Scamps seemed to arrive out of nowhere. Suddenly there was this young woman’s face all over the place – shining out from corflutes and bill boards on telegraph poles and suburban front fences. There were bumper stickers on cars and enthusiastic volunteers on every corner clad in teal coloured T-shirts proclaiming the new candidate for Mackellar – Dr. Sophie.
After 73 years of Liberal government, Dr. Sophie Scamps, Independent, arrived like a fresh breeze blowing through the suburbs of the northern beaches.
We now are all familiar with the fact that Dr. Sophie is one of the teals and that she stands for climate action, the use of renewables and accountability and integrity in government. But what else do we know? And how did she manage to win the previously unwinnable seat of Mackellar after 73 years in the same hands?
Image: Courtesy Sophie Scamps
Baysnews, with the help of campaign volunteer, Tejinder Gill from Elvina Bay, obtained this exclusive interview to find out what it’s like to be suddenly thrust into the limelight and to go from working as a local GP to take a seat in our Federal Parliament.
Sophie Scamps is on the move in more ways than one. Currently she’s moving her office from the Collaroy shop premises to those of the previous Mackellar incumbent, Jason Falinski. Old signage is yet to be removed and all the office furniture brought in but Sophie and her team have taken possession and are making the Narrabeen offices their own.
Sophie welcomes me warmly and despite the hectic schedule as our new member for Mackellar, she is gracious about giving up her time for this interview. I ask her how she feels about winning. “Great” she says without hesitation. “And super excited and ready to get on with the job” – although she admits to finding some aspects of her new role a little daunting. “I’m not one who’s used to public speaking so I found that a bit nerve-wracking at the start but I’ve had to get used to that and come to terms with it”.
Sophie’s rise to Federal Government may seem meteoric but her involvement in the community and advocating for action on climate change goes back over decades and is based in her desire to leave the planet a better place for our children. In 2020 the Voices of Mackellar group was formed and out of that came the “Kitchen Table Conversations”. It immediately struck a chord with the community.
“What we learned at those “Kitchen Table Conversations” was that people felt they weren’t being heard. We were in a very safe seat where the Liberal Party had a margin of 13% and people felt they were being ignored and that our Member was representing the party, not the people. So the solution people came up with was we need an Independent like Zali Steggall next door who can take our needs and values and genuinely represent us”.
Initially Sophie didn’t put her hand up for this role but it soon became apparent she was an ideal candidate. But first she had to consider the impact on her family.
“My family and I had to come to terms with it before I said yes. It worried me a bit because I’ve got 3 children, teenagers, who all need attention but they’re really excited for me and my husband is very supportive. People would say, how can you put yourself up there? But I had the community behind me. I had this incredible support and I just saw it as being part of this community movement and it was my role to play. I remember one volunteer said – ‘don’t feel the pressure, feel the support’.”
Image: Courtesy Sophie Scamps
Sophie sees the “Kitchen Table Conversations” model as being the basis of a genuinely democratic movement,“We tapped into the way people were feeling. The “Kitchen Table Conversations” were so powerful. It swept the country. It was genuine, non-partisan representation. The creation of the kitchen table model was largely women just sitting around talking. It’s a much gentler way of doing politics without that political hard core. People were so thankful for the first time someone was listening.
Sophie also felt that the previous government had gone out of their way to keep people silent.
“When Scott Morrison said climate change ‘will not be fixed in the cafes, dinner parties and wine bars of the inner city’, I felt that was in a way very derogatory and it was a way of de-legitimising people’s concerns.”
Sophie feels that in Mackellar at least, her win has broken the rusted-on connection of voting the same way every time.
“People began to think about what they wanted and the issues rather than the party. People would say ‘this is the first time I’ve considered changing my vote’ so it’s a shift in being wedded to the two party system and the trend is to minor parties and Independents.”
Sophie has clear views on the role of government. She believes people need to be listened to and that the government has a duty of care to create a safe future for us all. I’ll vote for that.
By Pru Colville
Editor.
Feature Image: The Guardian