Yasmin Catley says she is "concentrating on doing my job" as speculation mounts that she will be sacked as NSW Police Minister.
Premier Chris Minns insisted on Tuesday that the Swansea MP would stay in the role until at least the next election, saying she was "doing an incredibly good job in difficult circumstances".
The Sydney Morning Herald called for Ms Catley's sacking on Tuesday over her office's involvement in the controversial appointment of former Seven journalist Steve Jackson to head the police media unit under Commissioner Karen Webb.
The Opposition wants the minister referred to the Independent Commission Against Corruption over the matter after Commissioner Webb confirmed Ms Catley's chief of staff, Ross Neilson, a close friend of Mr Jackson, had recommended him for the job.
Ms Catley has also faced criticism over an alleged cover-up surrounding the fatal Tasering of grandmother Clare Nowland last year and for her handling of an anti-Israel protest at Sydney Opera House in October.
Asked on Tuesday if she felt she still had the Premier's confidence to keep the high-profile portfolio, Ms Catley said: "Look, I am concentrated on doing my job, which is resourcing the police correctly and looking after the health and wellbeing of police officers themselves.
"You know what the police say to me? Thank you for sticking up for us, because you're the only one that does. I do it because I see the hard work they do."
She dismissed her critics in the media as "keyboard cops".
One Labor source suggested Mr Minns may be backing Ms Catley publicly to "keep his enemies close", a reference to the bitter fallout from Jodi McKay's exit as Labor leader in 2021.
Ms Catley, who was a close ally of Ms McKay and her deputy leader, sacked one of her staffers for circulating a dirt file on Mr Minns, a potential leadership challenger at the time.
Ms McKay and Ms Catley denied knowing about the document.
