Shooters, Fishers and Farmers Party (SFF) leader Robert Borsak has reclaimed his Legislation Council seat in a NSW parliament that contains a respectable number of pro-shooting members in both houses.
SFF received 144,043 votes in the Legislative Council elections on 20 March, with a nail-biting wait for the NSWEC to confirm the final tallies.
Mr Borsak said he was “honoured” and “humbled” to have been re-elected for another eight-year term serving NSW residents and was excited to continue his role in the upper house.
“This victory is not just mine, but it belongs to all of the party members who worked tirelessly to support all of the local candidates and myself during the election campaign,” he said.
“I am determined to work hard to ensure that the Shooters Fishers and Farmers Party continues to represent the interests of our heartland and true believers, those that live and work in the bush. Thank you all for your support.”
Mr Borsak’s election means SFF still have two MPs in the Legislative Council, with Mark Banasiak being the other.
One Nation NSW leader Mark Latham, who recently went on record calling for greater access to NSW public land for hunters, was also re-elected to the Legislative Council, securing his seat in the first count with 273,496 votes.
Mr Latham thanked the party’s candidates and volunteers who had “worked so hard to make us the biggest right-of-centre party in the upper house, with three representatives and a good share of the balance of power in a chamber split 21-21.
“We will continue to fight for traditional Australian values and policies, not the woke PC cancel culture of the Labor-Greens-Mark Speakman Liberal coalition,” he said.
Liberal Democrats MP John Ruddick has also joined the ranks of pro-gun parties in the upper house, receiving 162,755 votes in a result the party has said shows that “with every election, more and more Australians are saying they want Libertarian voices in parliament”.
It’s good news for shooters in the Legislative Assembly (lower house) too, with openly pro-gun Independent MPs Phil Donato and Roy Butler being not only re-elected to their seats, but increasing their votes in the process.
Mr Donato received 26,815 votes in his electorate of Orange — more than two-and-a-half times the number of his major opponent; and Mr Butler received 20,090 votes in the Barwon electorate — nearly twice the number of the runner-up candidate.
The election of several pro-shooting MPs has been welcomed by Shooters Union, with president Graham Park saying it was great to see strong representation for shooters in both houses of NSW’s parliament.
“We have been saying for years shooters really can make a difference at the ballot box and these results prove it,” he said.
“They also send a clear message to the political parties that shooting and personal-liberty matters are very much on voters’ minds, and looking after those groups translates to votes and seats in parliament.
“There are some genuinely pro-gun and pro-shooting MPs in the state parliament following this election, and we are looking forward to working with all these MPs to bring about better results and outcomes for shooters across NSW.”
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