A s 16 contextual imputation that is 'truly alternative' to the plaintiff's imputation cannot be pleaded as a common law justification imputation in interstate defences, because the conceptual underpinnings of the two defences are entirely separate. Whether a person's activities are matters of public interest for defamation purposes is a question of fact that ordinarily cannot be determined on a strike-out application. An intermediate appellate court in NSW should follow decisions of intermediate appellate courts in other Australian jurisdictions unless convinced they are plainly wrong.
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