It’s not surprising that Aged Care Minister Anika Wells did not release the Aged Care Taskforce Review until after this month’s byelection in the federal seat of Dunkley.

It is more than two decades since Peter Costello’s first Intergenerational Report flagged the rising cost of health and aged care services as one of the big fiscal challenges for a rapidly ageing society. Today, the number of people aged 65 years and over has increased to 27 for every 100 of working age – and that is projected to rise to 38 in the next four decades.