Martin Paul Whitely (born 19 October 1959) is a mental health researcher, author and was a Labor member of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly from February 2001 until he retired from state politics in March 2013.

[1] During his parliamentary and academic research career Whitely has been a prominent critic of increasing child mental health medication prescribing rates.

[4][5] His research has primarily focused on the drivers and outcomes of prescription mental health medication use by children, adolescents and young adults for ADHD and depression.

The second, Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder late birthdate effect common in both high and low prescribing international jurisdictions: a systematic review, published in 2019 examined 22 studies in 13 countries covering 15.4 million children.

Whitely led research published in 2020, Antidepressant Prescribing and Suicide/Self-Harm by Young Australians: Regulatory Warnings, Contradictory Advice, and Long-Term Trends.

[9] It examined the Australian response to the US Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) 2004 black box warnings that antidepressant use was associated with an elevated risk of suicidal thinking and behaviours in people aged under 25.This research found that in the four years following the 2004 FDA warning there was a 31% decrease in antidepressant prescribing and a small fall in the rate of suicide by young Australians.

Following the abolition of Roleystone, he represented the electorate of Bassendean and was the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Forestry from August 2006 until the Carpenter government lost office in September 2008.

He unsuccessfully sought to prevent non-stimulant ADHD medication Strattera (Atomoxetine Hydrochloride) from being added to the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme because of its boxed warning for increased risk of suicidality.

[20] Whitely's self-described “at times obsessive” campaign against the use of ADHD medications by children has attracted criticism from prominent Australian psychiatrists Professors Florence Levy[21] and Alasdair Vance.