The 'present ability to effect the person's purpose' requirement in s 245 of the Criminal Code (Qld) is a matter of degree and does not require that the threatener be close enough to carry out the threat without any bodily movement; a distance of four metres with a knife is sufficient. Section 29(2) of the Criminal Code (Qld) requires proof of capacity to know the act was wrong, not actual knowledge, and no heightened standard of proof applies. The English approach requiring proof 'clear and beyond all possibility of doubt' is not the law of Queensland.
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