Pubdate: Fri, 21 May 1999 Source: Illawarra Mercury (Australia) Copyright: Illawarra Newspapers Contact: http://mercury.illnews.com.au/ DELEGATES SUPPORT CHILDREN'S COURT A plan to set up a pilot children's drug court was the first major resolution passed by the NSW drugs summit yesterday. The 215 voting delegates began casting their ballots yesterday afternoon on nearly 170 special resolutions arising from the week-long summit at Parliament House, which began on Monday. A drug court for adults in western Sydney already allows for non-violent offenders to opt for strictly supervised rehabilitation instead of jail. ``There should be established a pilot program for a Children's Drug Court as part of the Children's Court system, to be adequately resourced for the treatment and rehabilitation of young people with alcohol and other drug problems,'' the resolution said. It will form part of a communique to government and backs repeated calls from Chief Children's Court magistrate Stephen Scarlett to establish a drug court for children. The thornier issues of establishing safe injecting rooms and heroin trials were moved to the end of the debate, which was expected to continue into the night. One special resolution was that the State Government become the first in Australia to legalise shooting galleries, opposed by four senior Liberal MPs, Labor MP Gerard Martin and pharmacist Phil O'Grady. The plan recommended non-government agencies run injecting rooms, a change from a preliminary proposal agreed to by Attorney-General Jeff Shaw earlier this week where the Health Department would have operated the facilities. The controversial move won unexpected support from at least two Liberal delegates. - --- MAP posted-by: Ken Russell