On Monday, 12th December State Member for Orange Philip Donato MP announced his resignation from the NSW Shooters Fishers and Farmers Party.
Donato, the first-ever Shooters Fishers and Farmers Party candidate to be elected into any lower house seat in Australia, drew a line in the sand with party leader Robert Borsak, following Mr Borsak’s unrepentant misogynistic comments aimed at former party colleague Helen Dalton MP.
“Today I’m announcing my resignation from the Shooters Fishers and Farmers Party, and will continue to represent the good people of the Orange electorate as a true independent – allegiant to our country communities,” Mr Donato said.
In March this year Mrs Dalton resigned from the Shooters Party to go as an independent MP just three years into her first term, for reasons which are believed include the way she was treated by the leader of the Shooters Party.
Shooters Party leader Robert Borsak made headlines in September when he made an unsavoury, misogynistic and physically threatening comment in parliament regarding former SFF colleague and Member for Murray Helen Dalton.
The issue percolated among his colleagues long after the ink had dried on the newspaper reports, resulting in Mr Donato and his colleague Roy Butler laying down an ultimatum to the party leader, to step down or they would go independent.
“For 22 years as a police officer I stood up to protect women from threats of violence, intimidation and mistreatment,” Mr Donato said.
“I’ll continue to stand for rural and regional NSW, farmers, fishers and law-abiding firearms owners – just as I’ve always done,” Mr Donato said.