By Warwick Stanley
May 14, 2008 12:00am
EMBATTLED Western Australian Opposition Leader Troy Buswell says there is "absolutely no substance" to reports he once did something inappropriate to a quokka.
The Liberals leader, who has admitted to
sniffing the chair of a former party colleague and
snapping the bra of a Labor staffer, was questioned about rumours he
mistreated one of the small marsupials found on Rottnest Island, a holiday spot off Perth.
It followed the sacking from the frontbench yesterday of former leader Paul Omodei, who said recently there would be "more stories" to emerge about Mr Buswell and that his leadership would
"die the death of a thousand cuts".
EDIT: ever wonder why they call my Nigel 'the knife' ???
Mr Buswell said he did not believe any Liberal Party MPs were responsible for leaking rumours about the quokka.
He said on the occasions he had been made aware of the reports, journalists had "in passing mentioned the word quokka".
"I'm not going to comment on it," he said.
"All I've heard is people use the word quokka and then smile and laugh.
"I'm just not interested to be honest with you.
"Members of the press have in passing mentioned the word quokka and suggested to me that something inappropriate in the past may have happened.
"Nothing has, absolutely nothing."
Mr Buswell said he had no idea how the rumour had started, but a spokesman for Mr Buswell later said he understood it had originally been posted on a website blog.
The blog, posted on January 20 this year, states that the "bra-strap snapping incident wasn't a one-off".
It said there was a rumour "doing the rounds" about "a videotape of Buswell and other plastered Libs playing
'quokka-soccer'."
Mr Buswell's spokesman said if blogs were to be the basis of news stories, he could point to "a few rippers".
"As I understand it that blog is the source of the joke/rumour," he said.
"It appears a kind of Chinese whispers has occurred and now it will be prime time TV news. Amazing and disappointing."
Mr Buswell said he had never done anything to
cause offence to a quokka.
"I have absolutely no idea about these stories of quokkas on Rottnest," he said.
"I'm not being backward in saying that I'm not a perfect individual and you know I've had a
robust past and there may be elements of that that have proved offensive to people.
"I don't shy away away from that at all, but I'm not aware that I've caused any offence to a quokka."
Quokkas have been targets of abuse before, with
former Wallabies rugby backrower Scott Fava fined last year for mistreating one of the marsupials during a drunken incident on Rottnest.
Mr Omodei could not be contacted to comment on claims that he had raised the quokka issue at a party room meeting to decide the Liberal leadership.
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Originally Posted by innocent quokka
CHEERLEADERS ROCK!!! 
So who's offering to be Chief Quokka Correspondent?
