Treasurer Joe Hockey has told a court he was "absolutely devastated" when he saw the headline "Treasurer for Sale" on a series of articles about his relationship with Liberal party fundraising body the North Sydney Forum.

Mr Hockey told the Federal Court his frail father was in tears and his daughter asked him if "someone was trying to buy me" after Fairfax Media published articles in The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age and The Canberra Times on May 5, 2014.

Joe Hockey arrives at the Federal Court on Monday. Credit:Ben Rushton

Mr Hockey is suing Fairfax Media for defamation, claiming the series was maliciously produced out of "petty spite" by editors and political reporters aggrieved at having to print a correction regarding an earlier story.