NSW Premier Kristina Keneally has refused to be drawn on text messages sent to her by retiring MPs accusing her of lacking decency and showing contempt for people who joined Labor before she "arrived in Australia".
The text messages which were leaked to the media showed MPs were disgruntled by recent comments that she made that she had "shown 23 MPs the door".
But Ms Keneally has defended her actions, saying sometimes change can be difficult.
"I made it clear last year that I wanted to change our parliamentary ranks," she told reporters in western Sydney on Saturday.
"Change is sometimes difficult ... but it is worth pursuing here to bring change in our parliamentary ranks."
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She added that she was pleased to be taking a team of experienced MPs as well as fresh faces to the upcoming election.
