Clare Martin - Political Career

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 Darwin 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.