Skip to content While delivering the recent Lionel Murphy
lecture, Attorney-General Robert McClelland described the over-
representation of Aboriginal people in Australia's criminal
justice system as a 'national shame'. Police Commissioner Karl
O'Callaghan has discussed the dramatic over-representation of
Aboriginal youth in some WA crime statistics, rightly pointing
out the need to deal with the systemic social issues that
contribute to these alarming figures. One often overlooked
factor linked to disadvantage among Aboriginal and Torres Strait
Islander people is hearing loss, despite a substantial body of
evidence which links hearing health, educational outcomes and
interaction with the justice system. A reason this issue could
frequently be overlooked is its inherent complexity. This
widespread hearing loss is most often linked to a condition
called otitis media, a middle ear infection which affects 90% of
Aboriginal babies in the Northern Territory. It strikes at an
early age and is significantly more seve