Ivan Trayling

Trayling joined the St. Kilda West Branch of the Labor Party in 1964 and campaigned for the need for a library, a child minding centre, as well as a range of other issues. A 31-year-old Marketing Manager at the time, Trayling became a Councillor for St Kilda in 1967 after defeating the sitting West Ward Councillor, Bill Bush, who had not been opposed before. His campaign was managed by Brian Zouch, a fellow Labor Party member and news editor for the Southern Cross, who made sure that all householders who had agreed to vote for Trayling did so by ticking their names off on the roll on polling day, then sending cars to fetch those who had not appeared so that they could vote as they had promised before voting closed.

There had been community support for the creation of St Kilda Library but prior Councils had been consistently refusing to establish one. The council agreed to reverse their decades-old position when Trayling was elected, seeing the large community support behind his campaign. Trayling headed up a Library Sub-Committee as Chairman in 1969, with the Foundation stone being laid by him in 1972 in his then capacity as Mayor of the City of St Kilda.[5] Although the creation of St Kilda Library is considered his biggest achievement in local government, he also delivered on his other promise of setting up a child minding centre.

Trayling was also involved in the movement for abortion rights. Bill Dye headed the Abortion Law Reform Association, of which Trayling was a committee member.[6] The Abortion Law Reform Association was formed in 1968 to press for law reform, with the more specific aim of securing legislation along the lines of Britain's Abortion Act.

In 1972 Trayling became the Australian Labor Party member for the Legislative Council seat of Melbourne Province, which he held until 1982.

He was at the time the youngest member of the Australian Labor Party in the Legislative Council.[7]

In his inaugural speech to Parliament he highlighted three main points: his concern with the growing differing laws and regulations amongst states such as with roads, censorship, health and workers compensation; certain competition between states were hurting the national interest; and revision of the structure of local government, which he believed had become over-governed and needed downsizing.[8]

From 1973 to 1979 he was Shadow Minister for Local Government. From 1973 to 1976 he was Deputy Chairman of the Osteopathy, Chiropractic and Naturopath committee, looking into the standard of care, extent & necessity of treatments etc. From 1976 to 1982 he was Chairman of the Conservation of Energy Resources and a member of the House Committee.

In January 1972, Trayling met with Sweden's Prime Minister Olof Palme in Stockholm to discuss their mutual interest and support of the anti-Vietnam movement and the socialist policies of the day.

On 3 September 1975, Trayling had a private meeting with India's Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in New Delhi, during India's "Emergency" period [9] and discussed India's political situation, demography, trade and so forth.[10]

In 1978 after Sydney's Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, India's Prime Minister Morarji Desai visited Melbourne to meet with Sir Robert Menzies, an old friend and Trayling, on the recommendation of Vadilal Dagli. Dagli was the editor of Commerce magazine in India and interested in an article on the views of India's future.

Trayling retired from politics in 1982.