His announcement follows months of speculation about his future when Mr Martin has repeatedly said he would not be standing down. But he last night told the Western Advocate he had decided as early as last Christmas that he would not be contesting the 2011 election and had grown tired of “telling little white lies”.

Mr Martin, who served on Lithgow Council for 25 years before entering state parliament in 1999, said it was time to retire after 37 years in public life.

“My wife’s been at me for a while to start travelling and doing all those sort of things I’ve been putting off while I’m in the public eye and we’ve recently had our first grandkid,” he said. “While none of these things is the final catalyst, they all contribute to the decision.

“I’m disappointed in some ways but not in others. I just couldn’t keep fending people off when they asked me about my future.”

Mr Martin said he had already told premier Kristina Keneally of his decision and he addressed members of the Bathurst branch of the Labor Party at a meeting last night.

“I went to see Kristina six weeks ago and she’s relaxed about my decision and understands why,” he said.

But Mr Martin’s retirement will only add to the enormous pressure on the premier.

Polls are pointing to electoral annihilation for the Labor Party in March, and Ms Keneally has already had six MPs – Phil Koperberg, Kerry Hickey, David Campbell, Diane Beamer, Barry Collier and Alison Megarrity – quit since the start of September. Mr Martin is now the seventh.

His successor faces an uphill battle to win the seat of Bathurst after popular Bathurst mayor Paul Toole confirmed he would be contesting the seat for the Nationals, but Mr Martin denied it was a case of rats jumping a sinking ship.

“Absolutely not,” he said.

“This decision has been a long time coming. I actually first spoke to head office back in 2007 when Morris Iemma was at his zenith to ask them to start thinking about a new candidate because I didn’t think I would be going round again. They told me then it was too early to be making a decision.

“If I don’t go now I won’t be able to enjoy the things we want to do. I still enjoy the cut and thrust of politics and I was actually warming to the contest [with Cr Toole].”

Mr Martin refused to write off Labor’s chances of retaining Bathurst.

“Paul Toole may be the mayor of Bathurst but he’s not going to get the same response at a state election [the Nationals] presume he will get,” Mr Martin said.

“A state election brings in a whole new range of factors.

“Having said that, the whole landscape of Australian politics has changed a fair bit in recent months so one of the things I have learnt is to never take anything for granted. But I know that everyone other than the most seasoned optimist would say that the Labor Party has a job in front of it.”

Mr Martin thanked the many supporters who had backed him over the years.

“It has been an honour and a privilege to be a flag bearer for the Labor Party over the years and none of it would have been possible without the support of rank and file members.

“I am deeply indebted to the wonderful people I have worked with over the years both at a party level and in the general community,” he said.