DEALERS WHO SUPPLY MINORS TO GET LIFE: CHIKAROVSKI

Opposition leader Kerry Chikarovski says dealers who sell or supply
drugs to minors would face mandatory life jail terms under a New South
Wales coalition government.

She says dealers who used children to handle their drugs as a way of
avoiding getting caught with the goods deserved the maximum penalty
the law can impose.

Mrs Chikarovski has told reporters in Queanbeyan that she doesn't have
the figures, but she knows that children as young as 12 are being
given drugs by heroin dealers.

Currently adults who supply minors with a commercial quantity of drugs
or who repeatedly supply minors with smaller amounts face jail terms
of up to 20-25 years.

Mrs Chikarovski says offenders in both categories would face life in
jail without parole if she was elected at the March 27 election.

It's the coalition's third law and order announcement this week
following plans to jail first time graffiti offenders and re-establish
a police armed robbery squad.