Ivan John Petch is an Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

n politician.

Born in Concord

Concord, New South Wales

Concord is a suburb in the inner west of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is located 15 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the City of Canada Bay....

, New South Wales

New South Wales

New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...

, Petch attended Putney

Putney, New South Wales

Putney is a suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It is located west-northwest of the Sydney central business district on the northern bank of the Parramatta River...

 Primary School and Fort Street Boys High School before receiving his tertiary education in electrical engineering and music at Sydney Technical College

Sydney Technical College

The Sydney Technical College was a name used by Australia's oldest technical education institution.It began as the Sydney Mechanics' Institute in 1843...

. He held various positions, including professional musician, electrical engineering consultant, company managing director (Independent Promotions Pty Ltd), and a licensed electrical contractor. He joined the Liberal Party

Liberal Party of Australia

The Liberal Party of Australia is an Australian political party.Founded a year after the 1943 federal election to replace the United Australia Party, the centre-right Liberal Party typically competes with the centre-left Australian Labor Party for political office...

 in 1975.

In 1977, Petch was elected to Ryde Municipal Council

City of Ryde

The City of Ryde is a Local Government Area in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, on the Lower North Shore and Greater Western Sydney over West Ryde and Eastwood District....

; he continued to hold this position until 1987, and from 1980–87 also sat on Sydney County Council

Sydney County Council

The Sydney County Council was the authority responsible for electricity supplies in Sydney, Australia. The entity was created in 1936, and was elected and controlled by the municipal councils of Sydney. Between 1936 and 1952, it was responsible for electricity generation and distribution...

, of which he was chairman 1984–85. From 1986–87 he was an executive member of the Local Government Association. He was active in the Ryde

Ryde, New South Wales

Ryde is a suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Ryde is located 13 km north-west of the Sydney central business district and 8 km east of Parramatta. Ryde is the administrative centre of the local government area of the City of Ryde and part of the Northern Suburbs area...

 local area as Chairman of the Ryde Red Cross Calling Appeal 1978–84, President of the Ryde Lions Club 1985–86, and honorary member of the Ryde Rotary Club. He was also appointed a Commander of the Order of St Lazarus of Jerusalem

Order of Saint Lazarus

This article concerns the order of knighthood named after Saint Lazarus. For other uses of the name Lazarus, see Lazarus .The Military and Hospitaller Order of Saint Lazarus of Jerusalem is an order of chivalry which originated in a leper hospital founded by the Knights Hospitaller in 1098 by the...

.

In 1988, Petch was elected to the New South Wales Legislative Assembly

New South Wales Legislative Assembly

The Legislative Assembly, or lower house, is one of the two chambers of the Parliament of New South Wales, an Australian state. The other chamber is the Legislative Council. Both the Assembly and Council sit at Parliament House in the state capital, Sydney...

 as the Liberal member for Gladesville

Electoral district of Gladesville

Gladesville was an electoral district of the Legislative Assembly in the Australian state of New South Wales from 1981 to 1999. It replaced Fuller and was replaced by Ryde.-Members for Gladesville:...

. He held the seat until 1995, when he was defeated by Labor

Australian Labor Party

The Australian Labor Party is an Australian political party. It has been the governing party of the Commonwealth of Australia since the 2007 federal election. Julia Gillard is the party's federal parliamentary leader and Prime Minister of Australia...

 candidate and future Deputy Premier John Watkins

John Watkins (Australian politician)

John Arthur Watkins is a former Deputy Premier of New South Wales, serving between 2005 until his resignation from Parliament in 2008...

. He contested the 1999

New South Wales state election, 1999

Elections to the 52nd Parliament of New South Wales were held on Saturday, 27 March 1999. All seats in the Legislative Assembly and half the seats in the Legislative Council were up for election...

 and 2007 state elections as an independent

Independent (politician)

In politics, an independent or non-party politician is an individual not affiliated to any political party. Independents may hold a centrist viewpoint between those of major political parties, a viewpoint more extreme than any major party, or they may have a viewpoint based on issues that they do...

 candidate for Ryde

Electoral district of Ryde

Ryde is an electoral district of the Legislative Assembly in the Australian state of New South Wales. It includes the suburbs and localities of Denistone, Denistone East, Denistone West, Macquarie Park, Marsfield, Meadowbank, Melrose Park, Ryde, North Ryde, West Ryde; and part of Eastwood.It is...

, but was defeated.