Robert Borsak | |
|---|---|
| Member of the New South Wales Legislative Council | |
| Assumed office 7 September 2010 | |
| Preceded by | Roy Smith |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 20 April 1953 Sydney, New South Wales, Australia |
| Political party | Shooters, Fishers and Farmers Party |
| Children | Annie Borsak (née Saab) |
| Alma mater | University of Technology Sydney |
| Occupation | Accountant |
Robert Borsak (born 14 August 1953)[1][2] is the leader[citation needed] of the Shooters, Fishers and Farmers Party (SFF). He represents the party in the New South Wales Legislative Council.[3] He was chosen by the Shooters and Fishers Party to fill the New South Wales Legislative Council vacancy caused by the death of Roy Smith on 30 July 2010.[4]
During his time in NSW Parliament, Borsak has advocated for more funding and services for rural and regional NSW,[5] defended the rights of law-abiding firearm users,[6] introduced a bill to criminalise attacks on farms by animal rights activists,[7] lobbied for further support of the greyhound racing industry[8] and railed against attempts to restrict recreational fishing.[9] Borsak has also called on the NSW Government to re-negotiate the Murray Darling Basin Plan, to secure a better deal for NSW farmers and regional communities.[10] Borsak also has denied human involvement in climate change, stating that "scientific research, reports and arguments supporting human blame for climate change, were wrong".[11]
Prior to be being elected to parliament, Borsak acted as Chairman of the Game Council NSW, which sets standards for conservation hunting in Australia.
He is an active hunter[12] and fisher.
He was a guest on the 2014 show Living with the Enemy (Australian TV series)[13]
Borsak is a member of a number of Legislative Council committees,[1] which scrutinise government activity. He chaired an inquiry into the NSW Government decision to re-locate Sydney's Powerhouse Museum. He has been publicly critical of both the cost of the museum move and the NSW Government's failure to release a business case.[14]
Under Borsak, SFF campaigned on a "biased for the bush" agenda during the 2019 state election campaign, pledging to divert funds and services away from Sydney and towards regional NSW.[15] The party achieved its best ever result at the election, winning three lower house seats.[16] Controversially, despite routine denial of preference deals between SFFP and the Labor Party, [17] Borsak was captured on film encouraging the taxi council to start a grassroots campaign to direct voters to Labor in the run-up to the February 2023 by-election[18]
In 2022, Borsak was criticised for comments that he made suggesting that independent MP Helen Dalton, who had recently left the SFF, "should be clocked."[19] Following Borsak's refusal to apologise for these comments, MPs Roy Butler and Philip Donato later resigned from the party, after failing to remove Borsak as leader.[20]