Verifying his genuine deep interest in the ageing sector, the ex-Minister for Ageing, Mark Butler, has just released his new book titled "Advanced Australia: The Politics of Ageing”.

He was the Labor government Minister for Ageing for three years to July 2013. It was under his watch that the Productivity Commission and his department produced the Living Longer Living Better strategy that has overhauled the aged care system. The incoming Conservative government has picked up these reforms without change.

While for the past two years he has been Shadow Minister for Environment, Climate Change and Water, ageing has obviously been a focus for him. In his book he outlines his case that “completely puts the line through the doomsday analysis that the budget is broken because people are living longer”.

The aim of the book, he says, is to refraim the community conversation on ageing and question the ‘economist’ rationale when compared to the real world experience.