My journey to the Greens
Was there life before the Greens? It’s hard to imagine now, but yes there was, and not as fulfilling as life is now.
I grew up with strong social justice values, staunch union member and although never a member, a traditional Labor voter. As a Permanent Resident I wasn’t engaged in politics until 1992 when I became an Australian citizen to vote against John Howard. Can’t whinge if you don’t vote.
2007, the Rudd government and I’m disgusted by the continuation of mandatory detention, hello the Greens. Again, not hugely active, a supporter not a member. I would hand out HTV’s at the local rural school during State and Federal elections (about 100 voters). I enjoyed a bit of stirring in National Party heartland.
2013, I become aware of a potential environmental disaster. There was a proposal to move a toxic dump of antimony tailings from Urunga, at the bottom of the neighbouring Nambucca catchment to Hillgrove Mine, at the top of the Macleay catchment for reprocessing.
I called a community meeting and the Save Our Macleay River Inc Assn was formed. The only political support we got was from the Greens, so I became a member and got active. I joined the Bellingen Greens and travelled 2 hours each way to Local Group meetings. I was inspired and motivated by Carol and John Vernon and their commitment to the 4 Pillars.
I had my first crack at becoming a Councillor in a byelection in 2013, I had no chance of being elected, I did break down some barriers, supporting Carol Vernon’s run for Oxley in the State Election that year. A successful run, putting the Greens on the political map in Kempsey and eroding fanatical anti-Green sentiment. From 2013 on I have been a member of Election Campaign Committees for every election and have been a regular delegate at State Delegates Councils.
In 2017 Nambucca Macleay Greens was formed, a new local group. That meant lots less driving for me, with regular meetings alternating between Kempsey and Macksville.
In 2019 I put my hand up to be the State Candidate for Oxley, gaining valuable campaigning experience and heaps of resources – Coreflutes and A Frames that I have subsequently used in Local Government campaigns.
In 2021 I was finally successful in getting elected as the first Greens Councillor in Kempsey Shire, for a shortened term due to Covid. Then disaster struck, the election was declared invalid due to a failure of the iVote system. I was re-elected in 2022, and again in 2024, with 20% of Primary votes for Mayor, not quite enough to get across that line. It gave the conservatives a fright at least.
I’ve made progress in improving transparency and governance, environmental management and in building the profile of the Greens. I love the work, particularly the camaraderie and ongoing support from the extensive Greens Councillor network.