[13] Martin contested the Rodney electorate for a second time in the 2011 general election, where she was defeated by newcomer Mark Mitchell.
[2] In 2012, Martin sponsored the Social Security (Clothing Allowances for Orphans and Unsupported Children) Amendment Bill.
[22] The bill gave unsupported child or orphan clothing allowance parity with foster children and passed unanimously into law in 2015.
In an interview after the coalition, Martin said, "We realised early in that we needed to get the conversations between NZ First, Labour and the Greens really tight.
"[27] Following an attempted "uplifting" by Oranga Tamariki social workers of a child in Hastings in June 2019, Martin (as Minister for Children) met with local iwi Ngāti Kahungunu and the Māori Council.
[29][30] In early August 2019, Martin announced that the Government would be scrapping its Children's Teams task forces in response to the uplifting controversy but rejected comparisons with the Australian "Stolen Generations".
Peters' actions were criticised by both the Minister of Justice Andrew Little, who initiated the legislation, opposition National MP Amy Adams, and left-wing blogger Martyn "Bomber" Bradbury.
[40] She and her fellow NZ First MPs lost their seats after the party's vote dropped to 2.6%, below the five percent threshold needed to enter Parliament.
[41][42] On 9 November 2020, Martin was granted retention of the title "The Honourable" for life, in recognition of her term as a member of the Executive Council.
[43] In late January 2021, Martin along with fellow former MP Jenny Marcroft left New Zealand First, stating that the party needed to return to its roots and rebuild.
[44] In a 2022 interview Martin revealed she felt relief at New Zealand First's failure to be re-elected as she was contemplating leaving the party due to increasing policy differences.
[53][54] In October 2020, The Spinoff online magazine described her as a liberal feminist and potential successor to Winston Peters who could broaden the party's appeal to women.