Born in Sydney to Mary Ellen and Jack Ferguson, he was educated at St Patrick's College, Strathfield and 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 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 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, 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. 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. 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
Ferguson is a supporter of uranium mining in Australia and 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." The anti-nuclear movement in Australia is stronger than in other developed countries. 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."
Relationship with the Labor Party
On 19 May 2014, the Australian Labor Party's WA Executive endorsed a motion to expel Martin Ferguson from the Party. However he has refused to resign and continues to be a member.
Coal Seam Gas
In the lead up to the 2015 NSW Election, Ferguson criticised NSW Labor leaderLuke Foley over his proposal to ban coal seam gas extraction. A range of Labor figures have doubled down on efforts to oust Ferguson from the party.
Privatisation
Ferguson come out in support for the Liberal government plan to sell 49% of the government's electricity distributors. Ferguson even went further, saying he was "ashamed of the Party" and accusing Foley and the unions of "deliberately misleading the public, creating unnecessary fear and trying to scare people."
Career after politics
Since leaving parliament in 2013, Ferguson has continued to advocate for Australia's tourism, energy and resources sector. As of 2019, Ferguson was the chairman of the Clare Valley Wine & Grape Association, the chairman of the Advisory Board of APPEA and has commercial interests in the sector as a non-executive director of Seven Group Holdings and BG Group. Since June 2015, Ferguson has also been Chair of Tourism Accommodation Australia.
