Joe Hockey was stuck with such policies that were based on winning at any cost, rather than managing the economy. Credit:Andrew Sheargold But Hockey failed as treasurer even before he was sworn in. Serious damage was done as shadow treasurer. Total Opposition era I have a problem with politicians who put themselves, their faction and their party ahead of the best interests of the nation – which means I have a problem with most politicians. Hockey, as shadow treasurer, put the prospects of winning government ahead of good policy, ahead of the nation. My test of his integrity remains the little matter of FBT changes for motor vehicles, alias novated leases.

Labor's proposal in the 2013-14 budget to effectively end the novated lease distortion were completely reasonable and responsible. A fortunate minority were enjoying a tax minimisation lurk. It cost the rest of us billions for no good reason. It also provided a rich living for what is euphemistically called the salary packaging industry – it could also be known as the packaging branch of the tax minimisation industry. In what looked like a knee-jerk reaction as part of the Abbot-Hockey era of Total Opposition, Hockey promised to revoke the changes. The tax minimisation industry loved that idea and the Australian Salary Packaging Industry Association subsequently donated a quarter of a million dollars to the Liberal Party. Hockey kept his promise to scrap the changes. Cheap politics - 1, national best interest - 0. Tax was axed

Upon winning government, Hockey was stuck with such policies that were based on winning at any cost, rather than managing the economy. Goodbye Joe Hockey, arguably our least effective treasurer since Jim Cairns. Of the key three-word chants, scrapping the pricing of carbon is an easy example. Yes, the tax was axed – but the government didn't have the ticker to also axe the compensation paid to pensioners for the tax, effectively allowing pensioners to double dip on the carbon kerfuffle. So a revenue stream was ditched, subsequently replaced by $2.5 billion "direct action" program that adds to the expenditure side and the pensioner compensation remained. It's very hard to claim the fiscal policy high ground in such circumstances. There also was the $8.8 billion gift to the Reserve Bank – something the bank didn't ask for and Treasury didn't advise. It went down in the books as a cost for the "Labor" 2013-14 budget, blowing out the deficit and debt a bit more. It was a foreign exchange bet on the Aussie falling.

It was a good bet – paying off handsomely for subsequent budgets with rich RBA dividends as its foreign exchange reserves are revalued. Dressing up that forex bet as a necessary expense to protect the RBA was pure spin, much like Australia's undertakings at the G20 meetings last year. So it goes. Pattern set So the pattern was set early. And then along came the oddball 2014-15 budget, some things right, some things Right, some things wrong. Regardless, the selling of it was absolutely hopeless. That sales effort was epitomised by the "poor people don't drive cars" line – a simply dumb defence of what was a sound and necessary policy change to reinstate excise indexation. But the gaffe-prone and politically tin-eared wouldn't know that.

The bigger issue of Hockey being a poor salesman meant that even when he's been right, he's generally failed to sell the deal. The confusion over just what policy was and wasn't on the table didn't help. A matter of trust As suggested here previously, people don't trust the policies of politicians they don't trust. Abbott and Hockey won government because people lost trust in Labor, not because the Coalition was trusted. The first budget quickly trashed trust, meaning selling it was never going to be easy. The suspicion that it was unfair, and therefore that the reasonable bits might not be reasonable, cost Hockey dearly. The inability to explain and lead policy, while being ambushed by the prime minister ruling out various potential reforms, the inability to successfully horse trade with the Senate, and the perception of a treasurer looking after the party's key supporters first, all conspired to make Hockey a failure as treasurer. I think I was the first to write that Hockey would never deliver a surplus. I didn't suspect I would be proven correct so quickly. And now the AFR's Phillip Coorey reports that Hockey is being offered the plum job of replacing Kim Beazley as our Washington ambassador.

If there was a Federal ICAC, it would be interesting to ascertain from Malcolm Turnbull whether the job was offered before or after Hockey decided to quit Parliament. But there's no Federal ICAC. So goodbye Joe Hockey, arguably our least effective treasurer since Jim Cairns. Even John Howard, constrained by Malcolm Fraser and inexperienced when he took over from Phil Lynch, managed to instigate what became lasting financial reforms and famously kicked on in another capacity. Who knows, maybe Joe Hockey will be a hit with the Americans. They don't seem to take the fiscal side of things too seriously either.