The defence of mistake of fact under s 24 of the Criminal Code (Qld) does not apply to the offence of extortion under s 415 where the jury has already assessed the objective reasonableness of the accused's belief as part of the 'reasonable cause' element. The honest claim of right defence under s 22(2) need only be directed in relation to the first three elements of extortion (demand, threat, and intent), not the fourth element (absence of reasonable cause), because success on any of the first three elements would result in acquittal without needing to reach the fourth.
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