Clare Martin
Encyclopedia
Clare Majella Martin is a former Australia
n politician. She is the current CEO of the Australian Council of Social Service (ACOSS). A former journalist, she was elected to the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly
in a shock by-election win in 1995. She was appointed Opposition Leader in 1999, and won a surprise victory at the 2001 territory election, becoming the first Australian Labor Party
and first female Chief Minister of the Northern Territory
. She led the ALP to a record win at the 2005 election, before resigning as Chief Minister on 26 November 2007.
and passionate Democratic Labor Party
supporters. Her uncle, Kevin Cairns, was a Liberal
minister and MP
in the McMahon
government, but the family was not inclined towards his conservative politics. Martin's ancestry includes the Coughlin family which also had NSW's first female statistician and Australia's famous batsmen Victor Trumper
. The family was originally from County Offaly
, Ireland
until the Cromwell
invasion then left County Cork
in the 1850s just after the Potato Famine.
After attending Loreto Normanhurst
, Martin graduated from the University of Sydney
in 1975 with a Bachelor of Arts
degree, in which her major study was Music.
and other overseas cities, she began working as a typist for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation
in Sydney
in 1978. In 1979, she became a trainee reporter. After several years, she began to take an interest in presenting, but was told that she would not be given a position in Sydney unless she had experience elsewhere . In February 1983, Martin was then offered a six-month position presenting a morning radio show in Darwin
for the ABC Radio
station 8DDD.
She had little intention of staying there, and briefly returned to Canberra in May 1983, before being offered a job in Sydney. However, at the same time, Martin's partner was offered a partner's position at the law firm he had worked in Darwin. He liked living in Darwin and was keen to take up the position, so Martin agreed to decline the Sydney job and return to Darwin in May 1985 where Martin gained another position on an ABC Radio morning show.
In 1986, Martin made the move to television, as the presenter of The 7.30 Report
until 1988. After returning from long service leave where she cared for her two young children, Martin returned to work in 1990 to work on ABC Radio's morning program.
Legislative Assembly
seat of Casuarina
for the Australian Labor Party
at the 1994 election. However, she was defeated by Country Liberal Party
candidate Peter Adamson. She soon resigned from the party and returned to journalism, but when CLP Chief Minister Marshall Perron
resigned from his Darwin seat of Fannie Bay
, causing a by-election, she decided to make another attempt to enter Parliament. While in some ways the odds of success were even less than in 1994 , she rejoined the ALP and successfully gained pre-selection. In one of the largest upsets in the Territory during the 1990s , Martin went on to win the seat by 69 votes, becoming one of only two ALP MLAs in Darwin.
Martin worked hard to retain her seat, and was ultimately successful, holding Fannie Bay despite a heavy defeat for the ALP at the 1997 election. She subsequently served as Shadow Minister for Lands under then leader Maggie Hickey
. When Hickey unexpectedly resigned in February 1999, Martin was in a position to succeed her, and was soon appointed as Opposition Leader. She soon emerged as a vocal critic of the Burke government's policy of mandatory sentencing
, and began preparing the ALP for the election, which was then two years away.
election. At the time, the Country Liberal Party had held office for the 27 years since self-government, and the Australian Labor Party had never come particularly close to government. However, the ALP was coming off a particularly successful eighteen months, and Martin ran a skilled campaign. She was also able to take advantage of a number of gaffes made by Chief Minister Denis Burke, such as the decision to preference the One Nation Party
over the ALP - which lost the CLP a number of votes in crucial Darwin seats. Despite this, most commentators were predicting a close result with the CLP returned. However, in a shock result, the ALP achieved majority government by one seat, and Martin became the first ever ALP and first female Chief Minister in the history of the Northern Territory.
As Chief Minister, Martin immediately set about making changes, repealing the territory's controversial mandatory sentencing
laws, and introducing freedom of information legislation
, which had been neglected during the CLP's 27-year rule.
Territorians to her cabinet, she has been criticised for not improving the lot of her Aboriginal constituents, the majority of whom have a life expectancy well below that of white Australians. A respected commentator in The Bulletin
has suggested that she has gone slow on Aboriginal issues because she fears a white backlash that could result in her government being toppled.
The life expectancy of the Northern Territory's Aboriginal citizens has not increased markedly during Martin's administration. Alcohol abuse continues to be a major issue in Aboriginal communities and third-world diseases like trachoma
can be seen in remote Aboriginal townships. However in 2006, Martin rejected accusations by John Howard
and Federal Indigenous Affairs Minister, Mal Brough
that her government had been underfunding Aboriginal communities. A summit between the Federal and the Territorian Governments was proposed by Mal Brough in May 2006, but this, along with any potential to improve funding, was snubbed by Martin.
Martin has been critical of the Federal Government's intervention in Aboriginal communities as announced in 2007. She opposes certain aspects of the intervention such as removal of the permit system. In response, the Federal Government has rejected the Territory's argument, saying it is essential to remove artificial barriers to Aboriginal townships that prevent the measures needed to improve living conditions for Indigenous children
By 2005, the Northern Territory, under Martin's leadership, had achieved the following:
As Chief Minister, Martin led the ALP to the 2005 election
, which was their first as an incumbent government in the Territory. Martin campaigned largely on law and order issues. It was predicted that the ALP would win a relatively narrow victory. The final result gave 19 seats to the ALP, 4 to the opposition CLP and 2 to independents. The ALP won 6 new seats, including unseating the Opposition Leader, Denis Burke, in the most unexpected victory of all.
On 10 September 2007, Queensland Premier Peter Beattie
announced he would leave politics that week. This left Martin as Labor's longest-serving current state or territory leader, and as the longest-serving state or territory head of government in Australia, until she herself announced her resignation on 26 November 2007.
was elected as the new leader and chief minister by the ALP caucus.
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n politician. She is the current CEO of the Australian Council of Social Service (ACOSS). A former journalist, she was elected to the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly
Northern Territory Legislative Assembly
The Legislative Assembly of the Northern Territory is the unicameral parliament of the Northern Territory in Australia. It sits in Parliament House, located on State Square, close to the centre of the city of Darwin.-History:...
in a shock by-election win in 1995. She was appointed Opposition Leader in 1999, and won a surprise victory at the 2001 territory election, becoming the first Australian Labor Party
Australian Labor Party
The Australian Labor Party is an Australian political party. It has been the governing party of the Commonwealth of Australia since the 2007 federal election. Julia Gillard is the party's federal parliamentary leader and Prime Minister of Australia...
and first female Chief Minister of the Northern Territory
Chief Minister of the Northern Territory
The Chief Minister of the Northern Territory is appointed by the Administrator, who in normal circumstances will appoint the head of whatever party holds the majority of seats in the legislature of the territory...
. She led the ALP to a record win at the 2005 election, before resigning as Chief Minister on 26 November 2007.
Early life
Martin was one of ten children. Her parents were strong CatholicsRoman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
and passionate Democratic Labor Party
Democratic Labor Party
The Democratic Labor Party is a political party in Australia that espouses social conservatism and opposes neo-liberalism. The first "DLP" Senator in decades, party vice-president John Madigan was elected to the Australian Senate with 2.3 percent of the primary vote in Victoria at the 2010 federal...
supporters. Her uncle, Kevin Cairns, was a Liberal
Liberal Party of Australia
The Liberal Party of Australia is an Australian political party.Founded a year after the 1943 federal election to replace the United Australia Party, the centre-right Liberal Party typically competes with the centre-left Australian Labor Party for political office...
minister and MP
Australian House of Representatives
The House of Representatives is one of the two houses of the Parliament of Australia; it is the lower house; the upper house is the Senate. Members of Parliament serve for terms of approximately three years....
in the McMahon
William McMahon
Sir William "Billy" McMahon, GCMG, CH , was an Australian Liberal politician and the 20th Prime Minister of Australia...
government, but the family was not inclined towards his conservative politics. Martin's ancestry includes the Coughlin family which also had NSW's first female statistician and Australia's famous batsmen Victor Trumper
Victor Trumper
Victor Thomas Trumper was an Australian cricketer known as the most stylish and versatile batsman of the Golden Age of cricket, capable of playing match-winning innings on wet wickets his contemporaries found unplayable. Archie MacLaren said of him, "Compared to Victor I was a cab-horse to a Derby...
. The family was originally from County Offaly
County Offaly
County Offaly is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Midlands Region and is also located in the province of Leinster. It is named after the ancient Kingdom of Uí Failghe and was formerly known as King's County until the establishment of the Irish Free State in 1922. Offaly County Council is...
, Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
until the Cromwell
Oliver Cromwell
Oliver Cromwell was an English military and political leader who overthrew the English monarchy and temporarily turned England into a republican Commonwealth, and served as Lord Protector of England, Scotland, and Ireland....
invasion then left County Cork
County Cork
County Cork is a county in Ireland. It is located in the South-West Region and is also part of the province of Munster. It is named after the city of Cork . Cork County Council is the local authority for the county...
in the 1850s just after the Potato Famine.
After attending Loreto Normanhurst
Loreto Normanhurst
Loreto Normanhurst is a private, Roman Catholic, day and boarding school for girls, located in Normanhurst, a suburb on the upper North Shore of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia....
, Martin graduated from the University of Sydney
University of Sydney
The University of Sydney is a public university located in Sydney, New South Wales. The main campus spreads across the suburbs of Camperdown and Darlington on the southwestern outskirts of the Sydney CBD. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and Oceania...
in 1975 with a Bachelor of Arts
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
degree, in which her major study was Music.
Pre-political career
Having spent time in LondonLondon
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
and other overseas cities, she began working as a typist for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation
Australian Broadcasting Corporation
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly referred to as "the ABC" , is Australia's national public broadcaster...
in Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
in 1978. In 1979, she became a trainee reporter. After several years, she began to take an interest in presenting, but was told that she would not be given a position in Sydney unless she had experience elsewhere . In February 1983, Martin was then offered a six-month position presenting a morning radio show in Darwin
Darwin, Northern Territory
Darwin is the capital city of the Northern Territory, Australia. Situated on the Timor Sea, Darwin has a population of 127,500, making it by far the largest and most populated city in the sparsely populated Northern Territory, but the least populous of all Australia's capital cities...
for the ABC Radio
Australian Broadcasting Corporation
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly referred to as "the ABC" , is Australia's national public broadcaster...
station 8DDD.
She had little intention of staying there, and briefly returned to Canberra in May 1983, before being offered a job in Sydney. However, at the same time, Martin's partner was offered a partner's position at the law firm he had worked in Darwin. He liked living in Darwin and was keen to take up the position, so Martin agreed to decline the Sydney job and return to Darwin in May 1985 where Martin gained another position on an ABC Radio morning show.
In 1986, Martin made the move to television, as the presenter of The 7.30 Report
The 7.30 Report
The 7.30 Report is an Australian nightly television current affairs program, that was shown on ABC1 and ABC News 24 at , Mondays–Thursdays...
until 1988. After returning from long service leave where she cared for her two young children, Martin returned to work in 1990 to work on ABC Radio's morning program.
Political career
Martin had been interested in political journalism for some years, although she was not a member of any party, believing that party affiliation compromises journalistic integrity. In 1994, she was approached to contest the DarwinDarwin, Northern Territory
Darwin is the capital city of the Northern Territory, Australia. Situated on the Timor Sea, Darwin has a population of 127,500, making it by far the largest and most populated city in the sparsely populated Northern Territory, but the least populous of all Australia's capital cities...
Legislative Assembly
Northern Territory Legislative Assembly
The Legislative Assembly of the Northern Territory is the unicameral parliament of the Northern Territory in Australia. It sits in Parliament House, located on State Square, close to the centre of the city of Darwin.-History:...
seat of Casuarina
Electoral division of Casuarina
Casuarina is an electoral division of the Legislative Assembly in Australia's Northern Territory. It was first created in 1974 and was named after the adjacent suburb of Casuarina. Casuarina is an entirely urban electorate, covering only 9.28 km² and taking in the suburbs of Brinkin, Nakara, Tiwi...
for the Australian Labor Party
Australian Labor Party
The Australian Labor Party is an Australian political party. It has been the governing party of the Commonwealth of Australia since the 2007 federal election. Julia Gillard is the party's federal parliamentary leader and Prime Minister of Australia...
at the 1994 election. However, she was defeated by Country Liberal Party
Country Liberal Party
The Northern Territory Country Liberal Party is a Northern Territory political party affiliated with both the National and Liberal parties...
candidate Peter Adamson. She soon resigned from the party and returned to journalism, but when CLP Chief Minister Marshall Perron
Marshall Perron
Marshall Bruce Perron is a former Australian politician, who was a Country Liberal Party member of the Legislative Assembly in the Northern Territory from the formation of the Assembly in 1974 until his resignation in 1995. From 1988 to 1995, Perron was the Chief Minister of the Northern...
resigned from his Darwin seat of Fannie Bay
Electoral division of Fannie Bay
Fannie Bay is an electoral division of the Legislative Assembly in Australia's Northern Territory. It is located in the inner northern suburbs of Darwin, with its current boundaries including the suburbs of Fannie Bay , Parap, East Point, The Narrows, The Gardens and parts of Stuart Park...
, causing a by-election, she decided to make another attempt to enter Parliament. While in some ways the odds of success were even less than in 1994 , she rejoined the ALP and successfully gained pre-selection. In one of the largest upsets in the Territory during the 1990s , Martin went on to win the seat by 69 votes, becoming one of only two ALP MLAs in Darwin.
Martin worked hard to retain her seat, and was ultimately successful, holding Fannie Bay despite a heavy defeat for the ALP at the 1997 election. She subsequently served as Shadow Minister for Lands under then leader Maggie Hickey
Maggie Hickey
Margaret Anne "Maggie" Hickey is a former Australian politician. She represented the electoral division of Barkly for the Australian Labor Party in the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly from 1990 to 2001...
. When Hickey unexpectedly resigned in February 1999, Martin was in a position to succeed her, and was soon appointed as Opposition Leader. She soon emerged as a vocal critic of the Burke government's policy of mandatory sentencing
Mandatory sentencing
A mandatory sentence is a court decision setting where judicial discretion is limited by law. Typically, people convicted of certain crimes must be punished with at least a minimum number of years in prison...
, and began preparing the ALP for the election, which was then two years away.
Term as Chief Minister
Martin faced her first electoral test as leader at the 2001Northern Territory legislative election, 2001
A general election was held in the Northern Territory, Australia, on 18 August 2001. The centre-left Australian Labor Party , led by Clare Martin, won a surprising victory over the then-majority Country Liberal Party . Before this, the CLP had held 18 out the 25 seats in theNorthern Territory...
election. At the time, the Country Liberal Party had held office for the 27 years since self-government, and the Australian Labor Party had never come particularly close to government. However, the ALP was coming off a particularly successful eighteen months, and Martin ran a skilled campaign. She was also able to take advantage of a number of gaffes made by Chief Minister Denis Burke, such as the decision to preference the One Nation Party
One Nation Party
One Nation is a far-right and nationalist political party in Australia. It gained 22% of the vote translating to 11 of 89 seats in Queensland's unicameral legislative assembly at the 1998 state election and made major inroads into the vote of the existing parties...
over the ALP - which lost the CLP a number of votes in crucial Darwin seats. Despite this, most commentators were predicting a close result with the CLP returned. However, in a shock result, the ALP achieved majority government by one seat, and Martin became the first ever ALP and first female Chief Minister in the history of the Northern Territory.
As Chief Minister, Martin immediately set about making changes, repealing the territory's controversial mandatory sentencing
Mandatory sentencing
A mandatory sentence is a court decision setting where judicial discretion is limited by law. Typically, people convicted of certain crimes must be punished with at least a minimum number of years in prison...
laws, and introducing freedom of information legislation
Freedom of information legislation
Freedom of information legislation comprises laws that guarantee access to data held by the state. They establish a "right-to-know" legal process by which requests may be made for government-held information, to be received freely or at minimal cost, barring standard exceptions...
, which had been neglected during the CLP's 27-year rule.
Aboriginal Issues
Although Martin appointed AboriginalIndigenous Australians
Indigenous Australians are the original inhabitants of the Australian continent and nearby islands. The Aboriginal Indigenous Australians migrated from the Indian continent around 75,000 to 100,000 years ago....
Territorians to her cabinet, she has been criticised for not improving the lot of her Aboriginal constituents, the majority of whom have a life expectancy well below that of white Australians. A respected commentator in The Bulletin
The Bulletin
The Bulletin was an Australian weekly magazine that was published in Sydney from 1880 until January 2008. It was influential in Australian culture and politics from about 1890 until World War I, the period when it was identified with the "Bulletin school" of Australian literature. Its influence...
has suggested that she has gone slow on Aboriginal issues because she fears a white backlash that could result in her government being toppled.
The life expectancy of the Northern Territory's Aboriginal citizens has not increased markedly during Martin's administration. Alcohol abuse continues to be a major issue in Aboriginal communities and third-world diseases like trachoma
Trachoma
Trachoma is an infectious disease causing a characteristic roughening of the inner surface of the eyelids. Also called granular conjunctivitis and Egyptian ophthalmia, it is the leading cause of infectious blindness in the world...
can be seen in remote Aboriginal townships. However in 2006, Martin rejected accusations by John Howard
John Howard
John Winston Howard AC, SSI, was the 25th Prime Minister of Australia, from 11 March 1996 to 3 December 2007. He was the second-longest serving Australian Prime Minister after Sir Robert Menzies....
and Federal Indigenous Affairs Minister, Mal Brough
Mal Brough
Malcolm Thomas "Mal" Brough is a former Australian politician and Liberal member of the Australian House of Representatives from March 1996 to November 2007, representing the Division of Longman, Queensland...
that her government had been underfunding Aboriginal communities. A summit between the Federal and the Territorian Governments was proposed by Mal Brough in May 2006, but this, along with any potential to improve funding, was snubbed by Martin.
Martin has been critical of the Federal Government's intervention in Aboriginal communities as announced in 2007. She opposes certain aspects of the intervention such as removal of the permit system. In response, the Federal Government has rejected the Territory's argument, saying it is essential to remove artificial barriers to Aboriginal townships that prevent the measures needed to improve living conditions for Indigenous children
Achievements
In the longer term, she oversaw the completion of the Adelaide-Darwin railway, which had begun under the Burke government, and vowed to resurrect the stalled statehood movement. She also managed to markedly boost the ALP's standing amongst the electorate, as seen in the 2003 Katherine by-election, which saw a major swing to the party.By 2005, the Northern Territory, under Martin's leadership, had achieved the following:
- the highest economic growth in Australia at 7.2 per cent
- the lowest small business taxes
- record population growth
- the highest building approval rates
- surging house prices and record levels of home ownership.
- Property crime almost halved
- Approval for $1 billion development of Darwin wharf precinct
As Chief Minister, Martin led the ALP to the 2005 election
Northern Territory legislative election, 2005
A general election was held in the Northern Territory, Australia, on 18 June 2005. The centre-left Australian Labor Party, led by Chief Minister Clare Martin, won a second term with a landslide victory, winning six of the ten seats held by the opposition Country Liberal Party in the 25-member...
, which was their first as an incumbent government in the Territory. Martin campaigned largely on law and order issues. It was predicted that the ALP would win a relatively narrow victory. The final result gave 19 seats to the ALP, 4 to the opposition CLP and 2 to independents. The ALP won 6 new seats, including unseating the Opposition Leader, Denis Burke, in the most unexpected victory of all.
On 10 September 2007, Queensland Premier Peter Beattie
Peter Beattie
Peter Douglas Beattie , Australian politician, was the 36th Premier of the Australian state of Queensland for nine years and leader of the Australian Labor Party in that state for eleven and a half years...
announced he would leave politics that week. This left Martin as Labor's longest-serving current state or territory leader, and as the longest-serving state or territory head of government in Australia, until she herself announced her resignation on 26 November 2007.
Resignation
On 26 November 2007, Clare Martin and her deputy Syd Stirling announced resignations at a media conference in Darwin. Northern Territory education minister Paul HendersonPaul Henderson (Australian politician)
Paul Raymond Henderson is an Australian politician and the current Chief Minister of the Northern Territory.Henderson was born in Croix-Chapeau, France, where his father was serving with the United States military. He was educated in Great Britain to A-Levels and studied mechanical...
was elected as the new leader and chief minister by the ALP caucus.