Stephen Martin (Australian politician)

The Honourable Stephen Martin AO
21st Speaker of the Australian House of Representatives
In office 4 May 1993 – 29 January 1996
Deputy	Harry Jenkins
Preceded by	Leo McLeay
Succeeded by	Bob Halverson
Member of the Australian Parliament for Cunningham
In office 13 March 1993 – 16 August 2002
Preceded by	Stewart West
Succeeded by	Michael Organ
Member of the Australian Parliament for Macarthur
In office 1 December 1984 – 13 March 1993
Preceded by	Colin Hollis
Succeeded by	Chris Haviland
Personal details
Born	Stephen Paul Martin (1948-06-24) 24 June 1948 Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia
Political party	Australian Labor Party
Occupation	Politician, teacher, lecturer, rugby league referee

Stephen Paul Martin AO (born 24 June 1948) is an Australian former politician, senior academic and rugby league referee. He is best known for having served as the 21st Speaker of the Australian House of Representatives from 1993 to 1996 during the second Keating government. Martin served as an Australian Labor Party (ALP) Member of Parliament for the seat of Macarthur, south west of Sydney, from 1984 to 1993; and, following redistribution, represented the coastal seat of Cunningham, which included his hometown of Wollongong, from 1993 until his resignation in 2002. Martin was the Chief Executive of the Committee for Economic Development of Australia (CEDA) from 2011 until his retirement in 2017.

Early life

Martin was born in Wollongong, New South Wales and received a BA at the Australian National University, an MA at the University of Alberta, a Master of Town and Country Planning at the University of Sydney, a Diploma of Education at the University of New South Wales and a PhD at the University of Wollongong. Prior to entering parliament, Martin served as a high school teacher with the New South Wales Department of Education, a lecturer at the University of Wollongong, and a Town Planner with the NSW Department of Environment and Planning serving as Regional Manager for the Macarthur Region. He also served as an Alderman on Wollongong City Council from 1983 to 1985.

Rugby league career

Martin had a successful career as a rugby league referee and administrator.

In 1984 Martin refereed the Illawarra Rugby League first grade grand final, a feat that was subsequently acknowledged in Hansard. Martin was also the Referees' Association Treasurer in 1979–80 and Secretary in 1981–82.

Martin subsequently became a director of the Illawarra Steelers. He resigned from the board of directors in 1995 in protest of the club's refusal to open talks with News Limited during the Super League War and the sacking of coach Graham Murray.

Political career

Martin served as Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade from 27 December 1991 to 24 March 1993 and was elected Speaker of the Australian House of Representatives on 4 May 1993, a position that he held until the election of the Howard government in 1996.

During his time as Speaker, he became the first Speaker to be given the power to suspend a member of the House for one hour without a vote by House members. This was imposed as Standing Order 304a of the House of Representatives Standing Orders, later renamed to Standing Order 94a in 2004. Every Speaker since Martin has used the Standing Order on many occasions.

Martin resigned his seat on 16 August 2002 causing a by-election which was subsequently won by Michael Organ running for the Australian Greens.

After politics

After a period as President of the University of Wollongong campus in Dubai, Martin took the position of Pro Vice-Chancellor (International) at Victoria University in Melbourne in January 2005. His major contributions were to transform Victoria University's international operations and to create Victoria University International (VUI) as a unit of the university.

In March 2008 Martin became Deputy Vice Chancellor (Strategy and Planning) at Curtin University of Technology in Perth. In April 2009 he took up the position of Senior Consultant with the Slade Group in Melbourne.

In June 2010, Martin joined the Southern Cross University Graduate College of Management in the role of Professor of Business Research and director of the Doctor of Business Administration (DBA) program and left in November 2010.

Martin was appointed to the Chief Executive of the Committee for Economic Development of Australia (CEDA) on 1 January 2011.

In June 2022, Martin was appointed Officer of the Order of Australia in the 2022 Queen's Birthday Honours for "distinguished service to the people and Parliament of Australia, to charitable organisations, and to regional sport and education".