Two senior Liberal MPs have admitted they were involved in a pushing incident on Rottnest on Thursday night - but denied they ever came to blows.

6PR reported that South Perth MLA John McGrath and North Metro MLC Peter Collier were involved in a physical confrontation at the Rottnest Hotel after a Liberal Party planning retreat.

Perth Live host Oliver Peterson said multiple Liberal sources had told him the pair had got into an argument that ended with Collier on the ground and glasses smashed.

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But the pair fronted the media on Friday, insisting that, while there was definitely a push involved,anything beyond that was a figment of people’s imaginations.

“John and I had one of our colourful discussions, dare I say arguments, about the role of the upper house,” Mr Collier told media on Friday.

“It’s a wonderful part of our relationship. At one stage John gave me a bit of a push and I fell of my chair.

“That was the extent of it. This notion of fists being thrown is garbage. A bar room brawl? What a load of nonsense. It must be a slow news day.

Camera Icon Peter Collier and John McGrath talk to the media at Rottnest after the post-retreat ‘shove.’ Credit: The West Australian

“All of these journalists have come over here and wasted their time. Apart from coming to the pub, your stations and your outlets have wasted lots of money.”

Both Mr McGrath and Mr Collier conceded glasses were broken as a result of the shove but neither had any idea how their interaction came to light.

The pair would not guess at the motivation of whoever leaked information to the media and would not speculate on whether it was a member of their own party.

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Mr McGrath, however, conceded that the push was not a wise idea.

“I should have behaved a bit better,” he said.

“But you’d get a lot stronger push down at the local bowling club.”

Radio 6PR Mornings host Gareth Parker said Opposition leader Mike Nahan had confirmed to him there was an altercation between “gentle giant” McGrath and “gentle fellow” Collier.

“They are two people not generally prone to aggressive behaviour,” Nahan said in a statement he provided to Parker.

“They have been colleagues for 13 years and they have worked well together.

“No-one was injured and both Peter Collier and John McGrath will be attending the final day of the retreat.

“This isn’t how you solve issues but politics is a passionate business.”

Both Mr Collier and Mr McGrath suggested it was all a storm in a teacup - or, as one journalist put it, “a storm in a pint glass.”