If all else fails, a Prime Minister desperate for a reboot instead of the boot could try running a government based on fiscal integrity. At least it would have novelty value compared with rattling the national security can again.

Largely buried by the leadership circus of this month were two releases that serendipitously exemplify the lack of that integrity and provide a quick test of whether a "reformed" cabinet wants to do the best thing for the country, or just continue the routine of ego-driven power politics.

Car leasing tax breaks are a yardstick for fiscal integrity. Credit:iStock

First up was the 2013-14 political donations list. Second was the Treasury's 2014 tax expenditures statement. "Tax expenditures" are the measure of how much tax breaks cost the budget.

Among the political donations, a $250,000 gift to the Liberal Party from the Australian Salary Packaging Industry Association stood out.