Martin John Newell

Martin John Newell (1946 - ) was born in Potters Bar, which was in Middlesex at the time and is now in Hertfordshire, England, the second son of Margaret Louisa, and Ronald Micheal Newell. He migrated to Australia in 1967, on the "Fairsea", one of the last migrant ships to travel from Europe to Australia.He was followed two years later by his elder brother Lawrence Micheal Newell C.B.E., (1942-2008). Lawrence became a prominent Legal Administrator and Chancellor of the Anglican Church of Papua New Guinea.

Martin became a Melbourne City Councillor in 1978 following the retirement of former Lord Mayor Ronald Walker, and an Independent Candidate in the Wills Electorate of 1980 (won by Bob Hawke, later Prime Minister of Australia).

During 1987, as Federal Secretary of the Conservative Alliance Party, he was instrumental in promoting Sir Joh Bjelke-Petersen, the then Premier of Queensland, toward the position of Prime Minister, under the banner "Joh for PM."

In 1989, Newell served on the Board of Management of the Printing and Kindred Union of Australia.During the Republic referendum in the late 1990's,Martin headed the Mount Gambier office of "Australians for a Constitutional Monarchy.He was one of the first Australian's to support the newly formed South Australian branch of the "Family First Party".He heded the Mount Gambier regional office which gave strong support for the election of the party's first member of Parliament in the South Australian Upper House.