He was the Labor Party member for Port Stephens in the New South Wales Legislative Assembly from 1988 to 1999.
On 11 January that year he married Margaret Eady from Murwillumbah, a primary school teacher.
In 1970 he was employed with New South Wales State Fisheries, and managed the Port Stephens centre until 1988.
Defeated Liberal candidate Walter Scott went to the Court of Disputed Returns, obtaining a judgement that government cheques handed to community groups by Martin counted as electoral bribery.
This decision was met with astonishment by all sides of politics, and Martin won the by-election resoundingly with a 13% margin.