NSW Premier Kristina Keneally says she is "furious" after her road minister's chief of staff was charged with buying an ecstasy tablet.
The arrest of Matthew Chesher, 44, who is also the husband of Education Minister Verity Firth, demonstrated that "nobody is above the law", she added.
"To sum up my feelings on his behaviour, I'm furious," Ms Keneally told reporters in Sydney on Sunday.
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Ms Keneally and Roads Minister David Borger were in Balmain to open the inner-west busway, on Victoria Road.
But Friday's arrest and charging of Mr Chesher dominated the press conference.
"My patience for self-indulgent behaviour is wearing thin," Ms Keneally added.
She defended Ms Firth and said Mr Chesher's actions were "by him and him alone".
Ms Firth has been given the day off after her husband's arrest.
"Right now she is spending time with her family and she has my full support for that," Ms Keneally said.
Mr Borger said his chief of staff first told him about his arrest on Saturday morning.
"He left a message on my phone," Mr Borger said.
The issue is a further embarrassment for the state Labor government which has been dogged by controversy and faces an uphill battle in the March state election.
Asked if she found it hard to get up in the morning to deal with the controversies, Ms Keneally replied: "There was a time in my life where getting out of bed was really hard following the death of my child."
But she added that she still "loved" her job.
