The Polly Peck defence remains available in Western Australia, but is constrained by the extent to which the plaintiff could depart from pleaded imputations at trial. A defendant may plead and justify alternative meanings that are comprehended within, less injurious than, and not substantially different from the plaintiff's pleaded imputations. A report of only part of parliamentary proceedings may attract qualified privilege regardless of how small the part reported, provided the report is fair and accurate. The precise outer boundary of the Polly Peck defence — whether it extends beyond the Hore-Lacy formulation to Lord Diplock's broader test — was left open.
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