[420 Girl]

Attorney-General Jim McGinty has defended the appointment of a new magistrate after it emerged yesterday that he had been a candidate for the Australian Marijuana Party at the 1996 State election.

Paul Roth, who was appointed by Mr McGinty last week and will be based in Port Hedland, stood as an Upper House AMP candidate for the South-West.

Yesterday he confirmed he had been a member of the singleissue party which advocated legalisation of marijuana but said he was no longer connected to the party. “I had a particular political view which followed the view of the Australian Marijuana Party. That law needed to be changed with regard to legalisation,” he said.

Mr Roth, a barrister and solicitor in WA since 1983, said it was an issue he felt strongly enough about to contest the 1996 State election and the Federal election in 1998 when he ran as an Independent for the seat of Brand but on the AMP platform, which included legalisation of marijuana, setting up a government-run hemp marketing board and licensing a limited number of retail outlets to sell marijuana.

Mr Roth, who spent 16 years working with Legal Aid, said his political views had nothing to do with his job as a magistrate.

When asked if he had ever smoked marijuana, Mr Roth laughed and said it was none of The West Australian’s business.

He said Mr McGinty had not erred in appointing him.

“I am eminently qualified for the position, I have been practising law for 25 years, I have prosecuted people for having possession of cannabis, I have prosecuted people for possession with intent, had people convicted, sent people to jail for possession with intent,” Mr Roth said.

Mr McGinty said Mr Roth’s history with the party was disclosed under new provisions for anybody being considered for judicial office. “The advice from the Solicitor-General was that political involvement should not disqualify an otherwise excellent lawyer. Appointments to the magistracy are by application and Mr Roth was recommended by the selection panel as the most appropriate appointee,” he said.

Shadow attorney-general Christian Porter said the Government’s decriminalisation of marijuana had been a bad thing for the administration of criminal justice.

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