Ivan John Petch, 1939-2026

Ivan John Petch (1939–2026) was a long-time Ryde resident, community leader and politician who served as Mayor of Ryde and as the Liberal Member for Gladesville in the New South Wales Parliament from 1988 to 1995. Married to Ann, with whom he had six children, he was actively involved in local government and community organisations for much of his life.

 

His public career was later marred by ICAC findings in 2014 that he had acted corruptly during his 2012–13 term time as Mayor of Ryde. He challenged the findings in the NSW Supreme Court but was unsuccessful and resigned from council later that year. In 2018, he was convicted of improperly pressuring the council’s acting general manager to make a decision that benefited his financial interests and received a two-year community corrections order. In 2019, he was sentenced to 18 months’ imprisonment for lying to ICAC during its 2013 hearings.