Tensions have boiled over at the NSW Shooters, Fishers and Farmers at its annual general meeting, leading to two high profile sitting members to quit the embattled party.
In a bombshell announcement, Member for Orange Phil Donato and Member for Barwon Roy Butler both resigned and will run as independents, leaving Shooters and Fishers with no sitting lower house members in the lead up to the March state election.
This follows the earlier resignation of Murray MP Helen Dalton from the party in March this year.
Questions have also arisen around how well the party will now be able to represent farmers with no sitting members in regional areas.
Things came to a head when party leader Robert Borsak failed to apologise for comments he made during September that Legislative Council president Matthew Mason-Cox "should have got up and clocked" Mrs Dalton during a disallowance motion on floodplain harvesting regulations.
Mr Borsak was told not to contest the March election by Mr Donato, Mr Butler and MLC Mark Banasiak after he showed no remorse for the comment.
On Monday this week, after it was clear Mr Borsak would not be stepping down, Mr Donato and Mr Butler were left with no choice but to resign.
Mr Donato said the situation had become untenable after Mr Borsak was retained as party leader.
"We wanted to go through a proper process and to take it to the AGM and let the members of the party vote on it," Mr Donato said.
"We were hopeful to try and keep it in house and try and remain with the party.
"The members voted and it was a narrow vote, I think 12-9, or thereabouts.
"It came a point where going forward I just can't sustain this.
"He's never tried to withdraw those comments, he's never apologised, he's never tried to clarify them.
"For 22 years as a police officer I stood up to protect women from threats of violence, intimidation and mistreatment."
Mr Butler agreed that his position had also become untenable.
"There hasn't been any apology for the comments," he said.
"Fifty per cent of my voters are women and 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."
The Shooters, Fishers, and Farmers Party was not answering any questions after the bombshell resignations, but did release a statement on its Facebook page.
"The recent resignations of Phil Donato and Roy Butler has come as unfortunate news not only to the party, but also law abiding firearms owners, fishers, farmers and all those that the party has stood with and campaigned for in the last four or more years," its Facebook page statement said.
It said at the party's AGM on Saturday at Singleton, the former members attempted to elect new leadership, however, following a democratic process, the members of the party voted to remain with the current executive leadership team.
"It is unfortunate that a compromise couldn't be agreed to with the members and that the will of the members of the party wasn't enough for them to remain," the statement said.
It remains to be seen if the party will run candidates against Mr Donato and Mr Butler in the seats of Orange and Barwon.