After a gruelling by-election campaign, the new member for Pittwater Jacqui Scruby is hitting the ground running
Jacqui Scruby admits she’s not one to rest. Two days after an ‘exhausting’ by-election campaign for the seat of Pittwater, Jacqui was on a bus heading to State Parliament to learn the ropes. And she had not even been declared elected. “I don’t like sitting down Michelle!” she laughs.
It’s been a whirlwind few days since the by-election, and for Jacqui, it’s just starting to sink in that she will soon be the new member for Pittwater. Jacqui has been on the other side of an election before, defeated by some 600 votes by previous Pittwater MP Rory Amon at last year’s State Election. When Mr Amon resigned unexpectedly in August after charges of alleged historical child sexual assault, Jacqui was the obvious candidate for the ‘teal’ movement. Labour and the Greens did not even run a candidate. Armed with over 300 volunteers, locals elected her by a comfortable margin, with a 6.8 per cent swing for Jacqui likely – becoming just the second independent in the seat’s history to be elected to the previously safe Liberal seat.
Joined by her jubilant supporters on election night at one of the local surf clubs, Jacqui says it was ‘a celebration of everything we’ve achieved to date. And that’s years of community mobilisation, bringing people back into their democracy, running a campaign from the grassroots up.”
The long-time climate change campaigner is an environmental lawyer, and prior to the election worked as a management consultant – but also as advisor to Mackellar Independent Sophie Scamps, who actively supported her campaign.
The Whale Beach resident will join a strong and vocal crossbench of nine in the NSW Legislative Assembly, who have ‘warmly welcomed’ her to the fold.
“I was lucky enough to have a lot of crossbench MPs reach out to me and say, ‘Would you like to come in and join some of our meetings so you’re across everything?”
Jacqui Scruby (left) with her former boss Mackellar MP Sophie Scamps
As after the election is declared on 6 November, Jacqui will then join Parliament and vote on legislation, so she is conscious she ‘has to hit the ground running.’
“I have also been working in Federal Parliament, so I don’t feel daunted, I feel ready. And I think that’s good given that otherwise it would’ve been a very steep learning curve,” she reflects.
The mother of two girls has a long list of what she wants to achieve for Pittwater – but is realistic about how it can happen. “I’m very conscious that this seat hasn’t had an MP for a long time,” Jacqui says. “I’ll need to consult really widely (with the electorate) and that means meeting with every (school) P&C, principals and community groups and making sure that I’m incredibly well informed.”
Given Ms Scruby is coming in 18 months after the State Election, she says the biggest challenge will be prioritising the needs of a community where many sporting and other groups have been ‘underfunded for years.’ “You need to be strategic and you need to be realistic in (State Budget) submissions in order to negotiate and get what you want.
That’s a process that will be challenging because there are a lot of needs in the community.
“We’re not going to fix everything all at once. It’s about advocating long and hard for a number of issues.”
One thing is for certain: Jacqui says she will be ‘hustling’ for Pittwater. “I’m a bit of a terrier, I think. Why not give it a shot? People don’t have to answer your call or they can tell you to go away, but you can give it a shot sometimes!”