Noreen Hay says she is determined to retain her seat of Wollongong and has dismissed talk of a possible move to the NSW upper house as "media driven".Reports yesterday suggested Labor powerbroker Eddie Obeid was pushing for NSW Treasurer Eric Roozendaal to run for the seat of Wollongong, in exchange for Ms Hay being given an upper house seat.Ms Hay said the first she learned about the potential swap was when she read about it in newspapers.
Eric Roozendaal denies he will run in Wollongong"No-one broached the subject with me," Ms Hay said."To be honest I can only assume the speculation is media driven."Ms Hay said she was determined to retain her seat and would stand for preselection in 2010."As far as I am concerned I represent the best electorate in NSW, in Australia, in fact," she said."I have strong support from the community and have indicated I will run for preselection again."I have no other ambition but to be the member for Wollongong and represent my community."I keep telling people how happy I am. I love my job and have strong support."Ms Hay said she anticipated the preselection process would begin in the first half of 2010.Mr Roozendaal issued a statement yesterday saying his relationship with the Premier was "solid and professional"."Nathan Rees has a very tough job and he has my full support," Mr Roozendaal said. Mr Rees emerged from a caucus meeting yesterday saying there was no talk of leadership during the hour-long talks and declared his leadership "solid as a rock".
