Philip Donato

{{short description|Australian politician|bot=PearBOT 5}} {{Use dmy dates|date=July 2019}} {{Use Australian English|date=June 2023}} {{Infobox officeholder | honorific_prefix = | name = Philip Donato | honorific_suffix = MP | image = Philip Donato 2022.jpg | caption = Donato in 2022 | constituency_MP = Orange | parliament = New South Wales | term_start = 12 November 2016 | term_end = | predecessor = Andrew Gee | successor = | birth_name = | birth_date = {{Birth year and age|1972}} | birth_place = Liverpool, New South Wales, Australia | death_date = | death_place = | party = Independent (2022–present) | other_party = Shooters, Fishers and Farmers (2016–2022) | spouse = | relations = | children = | alma_mater = | occupation = Police officer and prosecutor | profession = | signature = | website = | footnotes = }} '''Philip Donato''' ({{IPA|it|doˈnaːto|lang}}; born 1972)<ref name="justice">{{cite news|last1=Rurenga|first1=Declan|title=Orange's newest parliamentarian guided by justice and fairness|url=https://www.centralwesterndaily.com.au/story/4304003/donato-guided-by-justice/|access-date=2 December 2016|work=Central Western Daily|date=20 November 2016}}</ref> is an Australian politician, currently serving as the member for Orange in the New South Wales Legislative Assembly.<ref name="Philip Donato NSW parl">{{cite NSW Parliament |name=Mr Philip Donato MP |id=2226 |former= |access-date=14 November 2019}}</ref> Donato was a police officer and prosecutor before entering politics, and was elected at a by-election for the Shooters, Fishers and Farmers Party following the resignation of National Party MP Andrew Gee.<ref name="abc">{{cite news | url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-11-21/orange-by-election-won-by-shooters,-fishers-and-farmers-party/8043658 | title=Shooters, Fishers and Farmers party claim first seat in NSW Lower House after Orange re-count | work=Australian Broadcasting Corporation | date=21 November 2011 | access-date=21 November 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.smh.com.au/nsw/orange-byelection-shock-as-nsw-shooters-fisher-and-farmers-party-trumps-nationals-20161112-gsnzlk.html | title=Orange byelection shock as NSW Shooters, Fishers and Farmers Party 'trumps' Nationals | work=Sydney Morning Herald | date=13 November 2016 | access-date=21 November 2016}}</ref>

He is the first member of the Shooters, Fishers and Farmers Party to represent a lower house seat, joining Legislative Council members Robert Borsak and Robert Brown in the Parliament of New South Wales.<ref name="abc" />

On 12 December 2022, Donato resigned from the Shooters, Fishers and Farmers Party following a dispute with the party's leadership over comments concerning fellow member Helen Dalton: he accordingly announced that he would contest the 2023 New South Wales state election as an independent.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Holmes |first=Peter |date=2022-12-11 |title="It's a sad day": Phil Donato quits after fallout with leader |url=https://www.orangenewsexaminer.com.au/post/phil-donato-quits-after-fallout-with-leader |access-date=2023-10-14 |website=Orange News Examiner |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Donato |first=Phil |date=2022-12-15 |title=Phil Donato: Why I quit the Shooters Fishers and Farmers Party |url=https://sportingshooter.com.au/news/comment-analysis/phil-donato-why-i-quit-the-shooters-fishers-and-farmers-party/ |access-date=2023-10-14 |website=Sporting Shooter |language=en-AU}}</ref>

==References== {{reflist}} {{s-start}} {{s-par|au-nsw-la}} {{s-bef|before=Andrew Gee }} {{s-ttl|title= Member for Orange |years=2016–present}} {{s-inc}} {{s-end}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Donato, Philip}} Category:1972 births Category:Living people Category:Shooters, Fishers and Farmers Party politicians Category:Independent members of the Parliament of New South Wales Category:Members of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly Category:Australian police officers Category:Australian politicians of Italian descent Category:21st-century Australian politicians