Barwon MP Roy Butler and Orange MP Philip Donato quit NSW Shooters, Fishers and Farmers Party

The member for Orange Philip Donato and Barwon MP Roy Butler announced their resignations from the party on Monday, a month after telling leader Robert Borsak to quit over his comments.

Mr Butler said he will continue to see that "Barwon gets the best possible deal from whoever forms government in 2023".

"This has not been an easy or pleasant thing to do but at last Saturday's party AGM, it became clear that our position in the party has become untenable without change - but there was no change," posted on social media.

"I am disappointed I would have like to run for the SFF, but that was not to be."

In parliament earlier this year, Mr Borsak suggested independent MP and former party member Helen Dalton should be "clocked".

Mr Donato, Mr Butler and Upper House member Mark Banasiak met with Mr Borsak in the final two sitting weeks of the NSW parliament last month and told him not to contest the March election.

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At the party's annual general meeting in Singleton on Saturday, Mr Donato said the leader was again pressed on the comments, but remained unrepentant.

Mr Donato, who was elected in 2016, said he quit at the meeting and tendered his formal resignation to the party on Monday. He and Mr Butler will run as independents at the election.

The party was already grappling with internal struggles, Mr Donato said, and the comments to Ms Dalton were the final straw.

"He's never tried to withdraw those comments, he's never apologised, he's never tried to clarify them," Mr Donato told AAP.

"From someone with my own personal and professional integrity and credibility, and my background as a police officer and a prosecutor, I can't continue to support a leader like that."

Mr Butler confirmed to AAP he had also quit the party and would run as an independent at the election, saying his position had become untenable.

"There hasn't been any apology for the comments," he said.

Mr Butler's Barwon seat is one of the largest in NSW and covers Narrabri. The Shooters Fishers and Farmers MP became the first person in 70 years to unseat the Nationals to win the seat at the 2019 state election.

"Fifty per cent of my voters are women," Mr Butler said.

"They don't expect me to stand idly by with a comment like that and just do nothing about it.

"I tried to do something about it and keep the party in one piece.

"But unfortunately, that's not the way it's gone."

Mr Butler and his colleagues began a push to change members of the party executive, moving key allies to Mr Borsak out of the executive, including his son.

"From a perception perspective, it looked very much like there were people who were on there who would tend to align themselves with Rob," Mr Butler said Monday.

Their attempts to reform the top ranks of the party were unsuccessful.

Comment is being sought from the party.

Australian Associated Press

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