Everyone knows they will eventually die, yet death remains a taboo topic. But avoiding the discussion doesn't make death go away — it just leaves us unprepared emotionally, psychologically and practically. Around 187,000 Australians die each year. Average life expectancy is now around 82 years and more than three quarters of deaths occur in people over 70. On average, around six Australians per thousand die each year. This is a very different pattern than around a century ago. In 1900, at 11 deaths per 1,000 population, the mortality rate was almost...