Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has been jeered by his party after claiming the Liberals are not ruled by factions or big business.
The statement was met with loud laughter and groans from sections of the audience as he spoke at the NSW state conference in Sydney on Saturday.
"Well, you may dispute that, but I have to tell you, from experience, we are not run by factions, nor are we run by big business or by deals in back rooms," Mr Turnbull said.
"We rely on the ideas and the energy and the enterprise of our membership."
The man he ousted as leader, Tony Abbott, was a conspicuous figure in the audience at the Sofitel Wentworth.
It was reportedly the first event attended by the two men since the change of the nation's leadership last month.
While having to raise his voice over the heckling when commenting on party factions, Mr Turnbull's speech to the party faithful was also met with applause.
He urged the Liberals to lift their game in attracting women into the parliament, and his earlier remarks praising Mr Abbott for taking the party from opposition to government were met with enthusiasm.
The prime minister said Mr Abbott helped preserve the prosperity of the nation and that he was owed an "enormous debt".
"He took us out of the wilderness of opposition and took us back into government and achieved great things, great reforms, great commitments," Mr Turnbull said.
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