The power of incumbency has rarely been better demonstrated than in Peter Costello’s ninth and quite conceivably last federal budget.The massive handouts in the form of higher family tax benefits together with changes to the tax scales were unashamedly aimed “front and centre” (in Mr Costello’s own words) at families, but also clearly at families in the seats the Coalition needs to win to secure another term.Carefully targetted, and timed perfectly to coincide with the coming election, the subst…
