Martin Ferguson
| The Honourable Martin Ferguson AM | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Martin Ferguson at the World Economic Forum on East Asia in 2012 | |
| Minister for Resources and Energy | |
| In office 3 December 2007 – 22 March 2013 | |
| Prime Minister | Kevin Rudd Julia Gillard |
| Preceded by | Ian Macfarlane |
| Succeeded by | Gary Gray |
| Minister for Tourism | |
| In office 3 December 2007 – 22 March 2013 | |
| Prime Minister | Kevin Rudd Julia Gillard |
| Preceded by | Fran Bailey |
| Succeeded by | Gary Gray |
| Member of the Australian Parliament for Batman | |
| In office 2 March 1996 – 5 August 2013 | |
| Preceded by | Brian Howe |
| Succeeded by | David Feeney |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Martin John Ferguson 12 December 1953 Sydney, New South Wales |
| Political party | Australian Labor Party |
| Website | MartinFerguson.com.au |
Martin John Ferguson, AM (born 12 December 1953), Australian politician, was an Australian Labor Party member of the Australian House of Representatives from March 1996 until August 2013 representing the Division of Batman, Victoria. He was a son of Jack Ferguson, who was Deputy Premier of New South Wales from 1976 to 1984. His brother is Laurie Ferguson, also a long-serving federal MP.
Ferguson retired from parliament at the 2013 Australian federal election.[1]
Life and career
Born in Sydney, Ferguson was educated at St Patrick's College, Strathfield and then the University of Sydney. He was successively research officer, Assistant General Secretary and General Secretary of the Miscellaneous Workers' Union, a member of the executive of the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) 1984–90. He was Vice-President of the ACTU 1985–90 and President of the ACTU 1990–96. A member of the Governing Body of the International Labour Organization 1990–96, he was admitted to the Order of Australia in 1996.
Ferguson won preselection for the seat of Batman (traditionally a solid ALP electorate) in 1995, after a deal had been negotiated between the right-wing Labor Unity faction in Victoria and the ALP National Executive. At the local level, the majority Greek party membership, largely resulting from heavy branch stacking,[2] was likely to support a candidate other than Ferguson; but no local candidate was likely to receive support from the 50 per cent vote in the preselection panel which had been elected by the Victorian ALP State Conference. Both the other candidates, Jenny Mikakos and Theo Theophanous, then members of competing Left factions, were forced to withdraw from a local preselection plebiscite in favour of Ferguson, as a result of these negotiations.[3]
Elected to the Opposition Shadow Ministry in March 1996, Ferguson served as Shadow Minister for Regional and Urban Development and Shadow Minister for Transport and Infrastructure 2001–04. He was then Shadow Minister for Primary Industries, Resources and Tourism from October 2004, being moved back to Shadow Minister for Transport, Roads and Tourism from December 2006.
On 29 November 2007, after Labor, led by Kevin Rudd, had won the federal election, Ferguson was appointed Minister for Resources and Energy and Minister for Tourism. He continued in these portfolios after Julia Gillard succeeded Rudd as prime minister in 2010.
Ferguson resigned his ministerial portfolio on 22 March 2013 after he supported an unsuccessful attempt to re-install Rudd as prime minister. He decided to leave parliament at the September 2013 election.
Uranium debate
In 2005, Ferguson addressed an Australian Uranium Conference and said "We as a community have to be part of the ever-complex question of how we clean up the world's climate. And part of that debate is going to be nuclear power."
Friends of the Earth have strongly opposed Ferguson's advocacy for expanding the export of uranium beyond the existing Three mine policy which Ferguson sought to overturn at the ALP's national conference in April 2007 . The lobby group Northern Anti Nuclear Alliance has distributed 60,000 leaflets critical of his policy in his electorate of Batman. He also supported – in scientific terms – the proposal of former Prime Minister Bob Hawke for Australia to become the world's storage facility for nuclear waste although he said that it was politically not possible .
He told ABC Radio that it was wrong to ban uranium exports to the People's Republic of China: "The Labor Party adopts the view that we're open for investment. It's about economic growth and jobs in Australia. Is China to be treated any different to South Korea, Japan, France, United States? I don't think so. We don't have one rule for China in terms of overseas investment and economic growth and jobs and another rule for Japan."
See also
References
- ↑ Labor MP Martin Ferguson announces he will retire at election.
- ↑ Ernest Healy (1995), 'Ethnic ALP Branches – The Balkanisation of Labor Revisited,' People and Place, Vol.3, No.3, p.48-54
- ↑ Lyle Allan (1995), '"Sam Benson for Batman and Australia"-Labor Preselection Problems, The Ethnic Vote and the Ghost of Benson,' People and Place, Vol.3, No.3, pp.54–56
External links
- Paydirt's Uranium Conference 2006
- Martin Ferguson's Parliamentary web page
- Search or browse Hansard for Martin Ferguson at OpenAustralia.org
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Ian Macfarlane |
Minister for Resources and Energy 2007–2013 |
Succeeded by Gary Gray |
| Preceded by Fran Bailey |
Minister for Tourism 2007–2013 |
Succeeded by Gary Gray |
| Parliament of Australia | ||
| Preceded by Brian Howe |
Member for Batman 1996–2013 |
Succeeded by David Feeney |
| Non-profit organization positions | ||
| Preceded by Simon Crean |
President of the Australian Council of Trade Unions 1990–1996 |
Succeeded by Jennie George |
| Preceded by Ray Gietzelt |
General Secretary of the Federated Miscellaneous Workers' Union 1984–1990 |
Succeeded by Jeff Lawrence |
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