Hockey: Not Your Average Joe

by Madonna King

While thousands of viewers watched Joe Hockey's approachable persona each week on Australia's "Sunrise" on Channel 7, there is a lot more to the Australian treasurer than meets the eye. This authorized biography of Hockey delves into how he embarked on his political career as a student and how he worked tirelessly to rise through the ranks of the Liberal Party, learning some pivotal lessons along the way and earning himself one of the nation's toughest jobs. Having held a raft of senior ministerial positions in the John Howard administration, he presides over some of the most controversial financial decisions of the decade. Already a household name in Australia, it is hard not to know about Hockey the politician, who has declared a "new age of opportunity" and whose budget has got the nation talking. But what about the man behind the politician? Drawing on hundreds of interviews, as well as full access to Joe Hockey, his family and friends, this biography explores the influences that have shaped his life, and provides an exclusive and unparalleled insight into the man who will play a pivotal role in Australia's future.

Genres: Politics, Biography

343 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2014

About the author

Madonna King is an award-winning journalist, commentator and author. She has spent 25 years working as a journalist in Brisbane, Sydney, the Canberra press gallery and the United States.

Ian Frazer: The man who saved a million lives is Madonna’s fourth book. Her previous titles include Catalyst, which looks at the media, politics and the law; One-Way Ticket (co-authored with Cindy Wockner), an investigation into the lives of the Bali 9; and A Generous Helping (co-authored with Alison Alexander), which drew on the community to create a best-selling recipe collection to raise money for victims of the 2011 Queensland floods.

Madonna also writes a weekly column for The Courier-Mail, sits on three not-for-profit boards, and travels Australia facilitating and moderating events.

Reviews

[Matt John · Rating 4 out of 5]

In Madonna King's latest tomb, her writing is very coherent and while trying to present an unbiased view of Hockey, writes in a positive tone as if he were your best friend. I really enjoyed the writing style. It was easy to read and you didn't feel like you were missing out on any detail - enough personal antidotes were included to provide a thorough view of the man, his background and the context in which he conducts himself. You feel like you are left with the facts and are able to judge the character of the current Federal Treasurer for yourself, not being influenced one way or another.

[Alexa · Rating 1 out of 5]

Having had the (dis)pleasure of meeting Joe Hockey many times, I knew ahead of time that this book would likely inspire rage and/or laughter in me (but not the kind of laughter the author is likely seeking).

Madonna King can certainly write, but I expected far more hard-hitting analysis in here of Hockey, and a lot less of the stroking of his ego. Hockey, like many of the other men in the conservative Australian Liberal Party, thought of himself as a guaranteed future leader of Australia.

This book merely proves, once and for all, that Hockey - like his equally-delusional colleagues - is a dangerous fool with policy ideas that have caused irreparable damage to Australians and the fabric of our society.

[Christopher Taylor · Rating 2 out of 5]

Two stars. Two stars does not mean bad. Hover over those five points. 'It was okay'. 2.5 might be more appropriate.

I am a swinging voter. I don't think my reaction to the book was influenced to any great extent by my political opinions. Rather, this is an odd book. Despite the long lead time, it could have done with a bit more editing. Secondly, the book is a bit ... soft. There are anecdotes that highlight aspects of Hockey's character that could arguably be considered weaknesses but just as many, if not more, anecdotes in which people echo the eight-year-old Hockey's statement: one day he'll be prime minister. I get that it's a biography written with the consent and co-operation of the subject and his friends yet at times there is a lack of diversity in the opinions being expressed about Hockey. It sort of stands at odds with King's constant refrain that Hockey is confident enough in his opinions and an intelligent enough fellow to enjoy the company of people that strongly disagree with him. At times King engages in what comes across pure hero worship. Oddly, at times some of the anecdotes intended to show what a great bloke our treasurer is ... have the opposite effect. At least to this reader that went in with no strong opinions one way or the other on Hockey's character. Nonetheless, I doubt there's anything in here that will hurt him too badly. No truly dirty laundry.

The media has made much of a couple of revelations King dug up: Melissa Babbage's frank assessment of the Turnbull/Hockey relationship and Hockey's none-too-secret wish that the age of entitlement had been brought to a swifter end with a harsher budget. The latter point amounts to a paragraph, really. Lead times and all ... but the final few chapters are spread thin, with GrainCorp/Holden/Qantas and the budget preparations getting crammed into a few pages. This compared to the slower pace of the earlier chapters. This perhaps highlights the book's other great flaw: timing. Hockey's been around politics for a long time but this still reads very much as an 'early career' book given his goal, ever since he was a pudgy eight-year-old, is to become prime minister.

[Warren Gossett · Rating 4 out of 5]

Madonna King has written a good biography of a politician still in the saddle at age 49 as Australia's embattled treasurer. Joe Hockey set out his marker when he said in London in April 2012, "The age of entitlement is over. The age of personal responsibility has begun." Australia is ahead of most Western nations in the struggle to free itself from government debt and deficit but the outcome is uncertain. I appreciated two parts of the book especially. How the Sydney schoolboy grows up to become a young politician. And the treasurer of Australia's effort to define a coherent philosophy to show he is not "cuddly Joe", the wishy washy former aspirant to the Liberal party leadership. By refusing to take a position and allowing a conscience vote on the Rudd government's carbon tax, he had been outplayed by both Malcolm Turnbull and Tony Abbott, the latter of which defeated Joe Hockey in a three way contest in December 2009 to become Liberal Party leader and ultimately Australian prime minister in 2013. Hockey has brought forward a tough budget in 2014. But I ask is it tough enough? Is it playing the man to note that Hockey had to have stomach stapling surgery to reduce his weight? To be fair, Hockey played football and trekked to Kokoda Trail and climbed Mt Kilimanjaro for charity. But I suppose really taming the deficit, killing the debt, requires more extreme measures. They are easy for me to contemplate but not yet for the average Australian. What if financial discipline requires ideas such as this. What if birth control should be mandatory for the purpose of reducing world population from 7.7 billion and Australia reduced from 24 million to 4 million. We would have more space per person plus advanced technology and education. There would be no carbon emissions threat of climate change. What about mandatory restriction of diet by cutting out fast food and junk food and unhealthy or immoral food? Mandatory veganism around the corner? There is plenty of room for financial, technological and spiritual discipline. But I guess Joe Hockey and all the rest of us will have to muddle through. Good luck!

[Di · Rating 3 out of 5]

An account of Hockey's early life and mid-career before he resigned from parliament to become the Australian ambassador to the United States.

[Belinda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this book, a very deep insight into upbringing, what made him who he is and where he is now