Sydney: A pair of shoes were hurled at former Australian prime minister John Howard by an Iraq war protester during his first television appearance since losing office in 2007.
The protest was reminiscent of an incident in Iraq in 2008 when then US president George W Bush, the leader of the 'coalition of the willing', had shoes thrown at him at a press conference in Baghdad.
Howard, who lost both government and his parliament seat in 2007, was defending his decision to participate in the Iraq invasion when a member of the television audience threw the shoes at him.
The throw was off target, and the protester was led away.
Howard dismissed the episode. "It's all right, don't worry, forget it, forget it. Relax," he said.