Stephen Paul Martin (born 24 June 1948) is an

Australian Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal Aus ...

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 The Speaker of the Australian House of Representatives is the Chairperson, presiding officer of the Australian House of Representatives, the lower house of the Parliament of Australia. The counterpart in the upper house is the President of th ...

from 1993 to 1996 during the second Keating government. Martin served as an

Australian Labor Party The Australian Labor Party (ALP), also known as the Labor Party or simply Labor, is the major Centre-left politics, centre-left List of political parties in Australia, political party in Australia and one of two Major party, major parties in Po ...

(ALP) Member of Parliament for the seat of Macarthur, south west of

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

, from 1984 to 1993; and, following redistribution, represented the coastal seat of

Cunningham Cunningham is a surname of Scottish origin, see Clan Cunningham. Notable people sharing this surname A–C *Aaron Cunningham (born 1986), American baseball player * Abe Cunningham, American drummer *Adrian Cunningham (born 1960), Australian ...

, which included his hometown of

Wollongong Wollongong ( ; Dharawal: ''Woolyungah'') is a city located in the Illawarra region of New South Wales, Australia. The name is believed to originate from the Dharawal language, meaning either 'five islands/clouds', 'ground near water' or 'sound ...

, from 1993 until his resignation in 2002. Martin was the Chief Executive of the

Committee for Economic Development of Australia The Committee for Economic Development of Australia (CEDA) is a bipartisan, non-profit organisation providing thought leadership and policy perspectives on the economic and social issues affecting Australia, established in 1960. Foundation The Co ...

(CEDA) from 2011 until his retirement in 2017.

Early life

Martin was born in

Wollongong, New South Wales Wollongong ( ; Dharawal: ''Woolyungah'') is a city located in the Illawarra region of New South Wales, Australia. The name is believed to originate from the Dharawal language, meaning either 'five islands/clouds', 'ground near water' or 'sound ...

and received a BA at the

Australian National University The Australian National University (ANU) is a public university, public research university and member of the Group of Eight (Australian universities), Group of Eight, located in Canberra, the capital of Australia. Its main campus in Acton, A ...

, an MA at the

University of Alberta The University of Alberta (also known as U of A or UAlberta, ) is a public research university located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. It was founded in 1908 by Alexander Cameron Rutherford, the first premier of Alberta, and Henry Marshall Tory, t ...

, a Master of Town and Country Planning at the

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD) is a public university, public research university in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in both Australia and Oceania. One of Australia's six sandstone universities, it was one of the ...

, a Diploma of Education at the

University of New South Wales The University of New South Wales (UNSW) is a public research university based in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It was established in 1949. The university comprises seven faculties, through which it offers bachelor's, master's and docto ...

and a PhD at the

University of Wollongong The University of Wollongong (UOW) is an Australian public university, public research university located in the coastal city of Wollongong, New South Wales, approximately south of Sydney. , the university had an enrolment of more than 33,000 s ...

. Prior to entering parliament, Martin served as a high school teacher with the

New South Wales Department of Education The New South Wales Department of Education, a government department, department of the Government of New South Wales, is responsible for the delivery and co-ordination of early childhood education, early childhood, Primary education, primary sch ...

, 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 The City of Wollongong is a local government area in the Illawarra region of New South Wales, Australia. The area is situated adjacent to the Tasman Sea, the Princes Motorway and the Illawarra railway line. Located south of Sydney, the City of ...

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 The Illawarra Rugby League is a rugby league competition in Wollongong, NSW. It is one of the oldest rugby league competitions in Australia, founded in 1911 with five clubs (Dapto, Helensburgh, Mount Keira, Unanderra and Wollongong). The area p ...

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 The Illawarra Steelers are an Australian rugby league football club based in the city of Wollongong, New South Wales. The club competed in Australia's top-level rugby league competition from 1982 until 1998. On 13 December 1980, they were the ...

. He resigned from the board of directors in 1995 in protest of the club's refusal to open talks with

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during the

Super League War The Super League war was a commercial competition between the Australian Rugby League (ARL) and the Australian Super League to establish pre-eminence in professional rugby league competition in Australia and New Zealand in the mid-1990s. Sup ...

and the sacking of coach

Graham Murray Graham Ernest Murray (6 January 1955 – 28 July 2013) was an Australian professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1970s and 1980s, and coached in the 1990s, 2000s and 2010s. A New South Wales State of Origin head coach, Murray ...

Political career

Martin served as Parliamentary Secretary to the

Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade The Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade () is a senior minister in the Government of Ireland and leads the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. The Minister's office is located at Iveagh House, on St Stephen's Green in Dublin; "Iveagh H ...

from 27 December 1991 to 24 March 1993 and was elected

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 A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, or a bypoll in India, is an election used to fill an office that has become vacant between general elections. A vacancy may arise as a result of an incumben ...

which was subsequently won by

Michael Organ Michael Keith Organ (born 22 September 1956) is a former Australian politician and archivist. He was an Australian Greens member of the Australian House of Representatives between 2002 and 2004, representing the Division of Cunningham, New Sout ...

running for the

Australian Greens The Australian Greens, commonly referred to simply as the Greens, are a Left-wing politics, left-wing green party, green Australian List of political parties in Australia, political party. As of 2025, the Greens are the third largest politica ...

After politics

After a period as President of the

campus in Dubai, Martin took the position of Pro Vice-Chancellor (International) at

Victoria University Victoria University may refer to: * Victoria University (Australia), a public research university in Melbourne, Australia * Victoria University, Toronto, a constituent college of the federal University of Toronto in Canada * Victoria University of ...

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 Curtin University (previously Curtin University of Technology and Western Australian Institute of Technology) is an Australian public research university based in Bentley, Perth, Western Australia. It is named after John Curtin, Prime Minister ...

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

(CEDA) on 1 January 2011. In June 2022, Martin was appointed

Officer of the Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an Australian honours and awards system, Australian honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Monarch ...

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".

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Martin, Stephen 1948 births Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of Australia Australian rugby league referees Living people Members of the Australian House of Representatives for Cunningham Members of the Australian House of Representatives for Macarthur Officers of the Order of Australia People from Wollongong Speakers of the Australian House of Representatives Victoria University, Melbourne University of Wollongong alumni University of Sydney alumni Members of the Australian House of Representatives Australian MPs 1984–1987 Australian MPs 1987–1990 Australian MPs 1990–1993 Australian MPs 1993–1996 Australian MPs 1996–1998 Australian MPs 1998–2001 Australian MPs 2001–2004