John Howard returned to his own marginal electorate today to open the Eastwood Granny Smith Festival.
The festival commemorates the apple's local namesake, Maria Smith, and her development of the tart green cultivar from French crab apples in the 1860s.
When an anti-war protestor heckled Mr Howard, the PM drew laughter with the slip, "Mr Speaker".
"Whenever anybody interrupts me I say Mr Speaker. It's just a respectful habit I have. You shouldn't provoke me," he said.