Stephen Martin

Stephen Paul Martin (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.

Born and raised in Wollongong, Martin served as an Australian Labor Party (ALP) Member of Parliament for the seat of Macarthur, in south west of Sydney and northern Wollongong, from 1984 to 1993; and, following redistribution, represented the Wollongong seat of Cunningham 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 on 24 June 1948 in Wollongong, New South Wales. He was the son of Vera Marion and Harold Edward Martin. His father was born in New Zealand.

Martin attended Wollongong High School. He went on to graduate Bachelor of Arts at the Australian National University in 1968 and subsequently completed a diploma in education at the University of New South Wales in 1969. He worked as a high school teacher from 1970 to 1973, then moved to Canada to study at the University of Alberta, graduating Master of Arts in 1974. After returning to Australia, Martin lectured in economics at the University of Wollongong until 1977, then worked for the Department of Planning and Environment as a town planner until his election to parliament. He completed the degree of Master of Town and Country Planning at the University of Sydney in 1982.

Martin was elected to parliament at the 1984 federal election, retaining the seat of Macarthur for the ALP. He was re-elected twice in Macarthur before transferring to Cunningham at the 1993 election following a redistribution. He was re-elected in Cunningham on three further occasions.

Later political career Following the ALP's defeat at the 1996 election, Martin was elected to the shadow cabinet. He served under opposition leaders Kim Beazley and Simon Crean, holding the portfolios of veterans' affairs (1996–1997), sport and tourism (1996–1998), small business and customs (1997–1998), defence (1998–2001) and trade and tourism (2001–2002). His seat was won by the Australian Greens candidate Michael Organ at the resulting by-election.

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".

Personal life Martin had four children. a feat that was subsequently acknowledged in Hansard. He served terms as treasurer and secretary of the Referees' Association.

In 1989, Martin was appointed as a director of the Illawarra Steelers. He resigned from the board in 1996 in protest over the sacking of coach Graham Murray and the club's refusal to open talks with News Limited during the Super League War.