Politicians generally profess much empathy for frail older Australians. They like to visit aged-care homes – usually when making some funding announcement. They front up to homes at election time and seek photo opportunities with happy, smiling, older people.
We hear the rhetoric over and over again - that Australia has the best aged-care system in the world - no matter which side of politics is in government. And yet one always has the feeling that, in spite of the various statements of support, often there is little real understanding of what it might be like to be very old, frail and needing assistance to achieve the most basic of tasks.