NSW Premier Morris Iemma has again checked with the state's corruption watchdog about Wollongong MP Noreen Hay after fresh allegations she pressured a councillor to overturn a council decision.
The Premier went back to the Independent Commission Against Corruption yesterday, five months after he first sought assurances Ms Hay was not a person of interest in its investigation of Wollongong City Council.
"She still holds my confidence," he said.
Opposition Leader Barry O'Farrell said the Premier had "no choice" but to stand Ms Hay down from her role as parliamentary secretary while former ALP councillor Frank Gigliotti's claims wre investigated.
"It is now clear Ms Hay's involvement in this scandal is wider than one phone call and routine representations, as she claimed (during the ICAC public hearings)," he said.
Mr Gigliotti has alleged in a sworn statement that Ms Hay summoned him to a meeting in her office with developer Frank Vellar.
He claims he was asked to lodge a rescission motion aimed at overturning a council ruling on the North Beach Bathers' Pavilion.
"It became very clear to me that the reason that Noreen had asked me to 'pop in' to see her was to act on behalf of Frank. I was very uncomfortable with this request and I felt a lot of pressure because of Noreen's influence in the ALP," he said in the statutory declaration.
He said he refused to lodge the motion.
Ms Hay has avoided directly addressing questions about whether the meeting occurred and if she was acting on Mr Vellar's behalf.
However, she reiterated yesterday she had nothing to answer for.
"It's my understanding ICAC have looked at this, deemed I was not a person of interest and that's it," she said.
The latest allegations refer to a meeting in February 2007 - four months after the phone conversation Ms Hay had with Mr Vellar about the pavilion proposal, which was tapped by ICAC investigators and tendered at the inquiry.
The call reveals Mr Vellar asked her to lobby councillors on his behalf.
Mr Iemma stood her down as parliamentary secretary for health but she was reinstated a couple of days later after ICAC said she was not a person of interest and would not be called as a witness.
Mr Iemma did not respond to the new claims made in Mr Gigliotti's statutory declaration but issued a statement:
"The Premier has today sought advice from ICAC ... ICAC is still to release its final results and the Government has full confidence in its investigation," he said.
Mr Gigliotti alleges that earlier this year he told an ICAC investigator about the meeting but his claims were not examined during the public hearings.
A spokeswoman from the corruption watchdog declined to comment on the matter yesterday.
"As the investigation into Wollongong City Council is not yet complete, it is inappropriate for the ICAC to comment."
Mr O'Farrell said the new evidence had not been publically aired and should be investigated.
"The allegations are contained in a sworn statement that at this point has not seen the light of day," he said.
"If Morris Iemma is fair dinkum about raising standards, he must stand Ms Hay aside or sack her altogether."
Mr Vellar has said he could not recall a meeting with Ms Hay and Mr Gigliotti.
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