Markham won Labor preselection for the newly created seat of
Keira in 1988, following the abolition of the previously safe Labor seat of
Corrimal held by the long-serving Member for Corrimal,
Laurie Kelly. Kelly challenged sitting
Independent MP
Frank Arkell for his seat in
Wollongong but was defeated. Markham won a narrow victory and was subsequently reelected at the
1991 and
1995 State elections, increasing his majority at each election. He was promoted into the shadow ministry in 1989, taking the position of Shadow Minister for Aboriginal Affairs, but was cut upon the election of the
Carr government in 1995 after struggling to gain a profile in the role. Markham was appointed Parliamentary Secretary for
Aboriginal Affairs after his demotion from Cabinet and was a persistent advocate for Aboriginal issues throughout the remainder of his parliamentary career. He was the architect of early land rights legislation transferring a number of government-owned sites into the control of their
traditional owners, and continually campaigned for action from the state government on Aboriginal reconciliation, ultimately resulting in the Carr government's Statement of Commitment on Aboriginal reconciliation in 1997. He was also a frequent advocate for local workers as the job cuts of the 1990s hit the Wollongong economy hard. Markham had long faced rumours of a preselection challenge from the right faction, which had been gaining increasing dominance in his region through the late 1990s. As a popular local member, however, he was tipped to be difficult to shift and planned challenges for the 1991 and 1995 elections never eventuated. He faced a much more difficult situation ahead of the 1999 election, however, when an electoral redistribution saw the right-wing faction gain firm control of the electorate's Labor branches. A deal was struck by which Markham would instead contest preselection for the neighbouring seat of
Wollongong, held by fellow left-winger
Gerry Sullivan. Markham won preselection for Wollongong, but his treatment by the party caused a local backlash, with Wollongong councillor Dave Martin running for and nearly winning Markham's old seat of Keira as an independent. Sullivan took the preselection to the
Supreme Court but lost, and publicly considered running as an independent before deciding against it. He was reappointed as Parliamentary Secretary for Aboriginal Affairs after the election, and acted as a strong proponent of
Sorry Day and
National Reconciliation Week. He faced speculation about another challenge for his seat in 2002, when it was leaked to the press that his name was on an internal party "hit list" for the next election. Long a target of the right-wing, the faction had been especially angered by his refusal to cross a union picket line at Parliament House in opposition to Carr government workers' compensation changes that were deeply unpopular in Markham's blue-collar electorate. The speculation received a sharp response from the trade union movement, with the local divisions of six major unions threatening protests and support for independent candidacies if Markham was toppled by head office. Markham's impending axing took on federal consequences when angry local unions and left-wing groups directed their resources against the right faction candidate Labor had endorsed for a
by-election in the federal seat of Cunningham; in a shock result, Green candidate
Michael Organ won the seat after a disastrous Labor campaign. Markham received a late endorsement from Premier
Bob Carr ahead of the 2002 preselection vote, but this was not enough to sway the right-dominated preselectors, who voted for
Noreen Hay, a local left faction figure who defected to the right soon after. He retired at the election rather than run as an independent, and Hay held the seat, albeit with a 13% swing against her. Tickets to his farewell dinner at the WIN Entertainment Centre sold out five days before it was held. ==Community involvement==