Australia is set to go through its worst bushfire season in four years this spring and summer, as three years of wet give way to below-average rainfall and above-average temperatures.

The first two weeks of spring have already seen hazard reduction burns blanket Sydney in smoke, and warnings issued over fires in Queensland and the Northern Territory.

With conditions set to intensify over the coming months, there are plenty of questions about what the bushfire season will look like. Here's the answer to some of them.

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Hang on, it's been raining for the last three years. Shouldn't that mean we aren't at risk of bad fires?

Unfortunately, it's not quite as simple as that. 

It's true that the excessive rainfall brought about by three successive La Niñas means Australia's soil moisture levels aren't as low as they were in 2019-20, when they contributed to the catastrophic Black Summer fires.

However, the wet conditions have led to vegetation growth, providing more fuel for any blazes that start.

"Higher rainfall over the past two years means there is above-average growth of grassy fuels," the Bureau of Meteorology said.

"This, combined with drying caused by below-average winter rainfall over large parts of western, central and southern Australia, indicates a seasonal bushfire outlook that is above normal for large parts of southern Australia."

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What's the difference between backburning and hazard reduction burns?

While the two terms are sometimes used interchangeably, backburning and hazard reduction burns are very different things.

Hazard reduction burns – also sometimes called prescribed, planned, controlled or fuel-reduction burns – are the operations carried out when fires aren't burning, often out of season, to reduce the amount of fuel in bushfire-prone areas that could help fuel bigger blazes.

Backburning is a firefighting tool employed by crews to reduce fuel in the path of already-burning fires, helping them create containment lines and try to get a blaze under control.

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What impact is climate change having on bushfires?

In Australia and around the rest of the world, experts say climate change is making bushfires more severe and frequent.

The BoM has been registering more extreme weather in eastern and southern Australia over summer, as well as bushfire seasons beginning earlier than they used to.

"These trends towards more dangerous bushfire conditions are at least partly attributable to human-caused climate change, including through increased temperatures," it says.

"Northern Australia, which sees significant fire activity during the dry season, has experienced increases in monsoonal rainfall that have increased fuel growth in recent decades, as a key factor influencing fire danger in that region."

Concerningly, this is set to worsen even further in the coming years.

"Bushfire weather conditions in future years are projected to increase in severity for many regions of Australasia, including due to more extreme heat events, with the rate and magnitude of change increasing with greenhouse gas concentrations (and emissions)," the BoM says.

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Are bushfires only started by arsonists?

While arson is the cause of some bushfires, the majority are sparked by natural causes.

According to Geoscience Australia, about half of all blazes begin thanks to lightning strikes.

"Bushfires can originate from both human activity and natural causes with lightning the predominant natural source, accounting for about half of all ignitions in Australia," it says.

"Fires of human origin currently account for the remainder and are classified as accidental or deliberate. 

"Fires lit deliberately can be the result of arson or might be designed to achieve a beneficial outcome but conditions have changed, resulting in uncontrollable spread."

Do bushfires only happen where the government wants to build train lines?

No.

This is a conspiracy theory that reared its head during the 2019-20 bushfire season in Australia, as well as the 2018 Californian wildfires.

Something similar even found its way onto social media during the devastating blaze on Maui, Hawaii, earlier this year.

According to the theory, the fires aren't started naturally.

Instead, they're set off by the government – or, depending on who you ask, energy and gas companies, other corporations or even the United Nations – which uses lasers or smart electricity meters lasers to spark the blazes.

The reason for this, the conspiracy claims, is to clear room for high-speed rail projects.

Given Australia's east coast has remained stubbornly bereft of a high-speed rail network since the summer of 2019-20, it'll come as no surprise that there is absolutely no evidence to back up the theory.

The death toll from flooding that hit the eastern Libyan city of Derna has reached more than 5000 and was expected to rise further, a local health official said, as authorities struggled to get aid to the coastal city where thousands remained missing and tens of thousands were homeless.

Aid workers who managed to reach the city, which was cut off Sunday night when flash floods washed away most of the access roads, described devastation in the city's centre, where search and rescue teams combed shattered apartment buildings for bodies and retrieved floating bodies offshore.

"Bodies are everywhere, inside houses, in the streets, at sea. Wherever you go, you find dead men, women, and children," Emad al-Falah, an aid worker from Benghazi, said over the phone from Derna. "Entire families were lost."

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Mediterranean storm Daniel caused deadly flooding in many towns of eastern Libya, but the worst-hit was Derna. As the storm pounded the coast Sunday, residents said they heard loud explosions when the dams outside the city collapsed. Floodwaters washed down Wadi Derna, a river running from the mountains through the city and into the sea.

"The city of Derna was submerged by waves 7 metres high that destroyed everything in their path," Yann Fridez, head of the delegation of the International Committee of the Red Cross in Libya, told broadcaster France24. "The human toll is enormous."

Derna lies on a narrow coastal plain on the Mediterranean under steep mountains running along the coast. Only two roads from the south remain usable, and they involve a long, winding route through the mountains.

Aid teams with some supplies managed to get in that way, but local emergency workers otherwise were relying on whatever equipment they already had on hand. Collapsed bridges split the city centre, further hampering movements.

Ossama Ali, a spokesman for the Ambulance and Emergency Center in eastern Libya, said at least 5100 deaths were recorded in Derna, along with around 100 others elsewhere in eastern Libya. More than 7000 people were injured in the city, most receiving treatment in field hospitals that authorities and aid agencies set up, he told The Associated Press by phone on Wednesday.

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The number of deaths is likely to increase since search and rescue teams are still collecting bodies from the streets, buildings and the sea, he said.

At least 30,000 people in Derna were displaced by the flooding, the UN migration agency said. The damage is so extensive that the city is almost inaccessible for humanitarian aid workers, the International Organisation for Migration said.

The startling devastation pointed to the storm's intensity, but also Libya's vulnerability. The country is divided by rival governments, one in the east, the other in the west, and the result has been neglect of infrastructure in many areas.

"This is a disaster of every sense of the word," a wailing survivor who lost 11 members of his family told a local television station as a group of rescuers tried to calm him. The television station did not identify the survivor.

Ahmed Abdalla, a survivor who joined the search and rescue effort, said they were putting bodies in the yard of a local hospital before taking them for burial in mass graves at the city's sole intact cemetery.

"The situation is indescribable. Entire families dead in this disaster. Some were washed away to the sea," Abdalla said by phone from Derna.

Bulldozers worked over the past two days to fix and clear roads to allow the delivery of humanitarian aid and heavy equipment urgently needed for the search and rescue operations. Derna is 250 kilometres east of Benghazi, where international aid started to arrive on Tuesday.

Libya's neighbours, Egypt, Algeria and Tunisia, as well as Turkey and the United Arab Emirates, have sent rescue teams and humanitarian aid. President Joe Biden also said the United States is sending emergency funds to relief organisations and coordinating with the Libyan authorities and the UN to provide additional support.

Mohammed Abu-Lamousha, a spokesman for the eastern Libyan interior ministry, on Tuesday put the death tally in Derna at more than 5300, according to the state-run news agency. Dozens of others were reported dead in other towns in eastern Libya, he said.

Authorities have transferred hundreds of bodies to morgues in nearby towns. In the city of Tobruk, 169 kilometres east of Derna, the Medical Center of Tobruk's morgue received more than 300 bodies for people killed in the Derna flooding. Among them were 84 Egyptians, according to a list of dead obtained by The Associated Press.

Dozens of bodies of Egyptians killed in the floods were returned to their home country. Most of the dead are from one village, el-Sharif, in the southern province of Beni Suef. They were buried Wednesday morning following a mass funeral attended by hundreds of villagers. Four of the dead were buried at another funeral in the Nile Delta province of Beheira.

Among the dead was the family of Saleh Sariyeh, 60, a Palestinian from the refugee camp of Ein el-Hilweh in Lebanon, whose home was washed away in the floods, his nephew Mohammed Sariyeh told The Associated Press.

Mohammed Sariyeh said his uncle had been living for decades in Derna with his wife, Sanaa Jammal, and two daughters, Walaa, 27, and Hoda, 25, and were all killed on Monday. He added that friends called them from Libya telling the family that his uncle's apartment was in a building in the city center that was washed away during the storm.

The four were buried in Derna, Mohammed Sariyeh said adding that because of the ongoing fighting in Ein el-Hilweh, the family in Lebanon will not be receiving condolences in the camp.

At least 10,000 people were still missing in the city, according to Tamer Ramadan, Libya envoy for the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies. He said 40,000 people have been displaced in Derna and other towns affected by the floods in eastern Libya.

Known for its white-painted houses and palm gardens, Derna is about 900 kilometres east of the capital, Tripoli. It is controlled by the forces of powerful military commander Khalifa Hifter, who is allied with the eastern Libyan government. The rival government in western Libya, based in Tripoli, is allied with other armed groups.

Much of Derna was built by Italy when Libya was under Italian occupation in the first half of the 20th century. The city was once a hub for extremist groups in the years of chaos that followed the NATO-backed uprising that toppled and killed longtime dictator Moammar Gadhafi in 2011.

Qantas has been found to have illegally sacked almost 1700 workers during the COVID-19 pandemic, leading to calls for the company's chairman and board to step aside.

The High Court judgment handed down on Wednesday upheld two rulings made by the Federal Court, which found the outsourcing of baggage handlers, cleaners and ground staff was unlawful.

Justices Kiefel, Gageler, Gleeson and Jagot said in the judgment anyone who took "adverse action against another person for a substantial and operative reason of preventing the exercise of a workplace right by the other person contravenes (part of section 340 of the Fair Work Act) … regardless of whether that other person has the relevant workplace right at the time the adverse action is taken".

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"Qantas did not avoid the operation of (the section) in relation to its adverse action by taking the action prior to the existence of the workplace rights the exercise of which Qantas sought to thwart."

The Transport Workers Union (TWU), which brought the legal action, said the Qantas board required an overhaul following the ruling, including the departure of chairman Richard Goyder.

"The airline cannot achieve the reset necessary for its survival under the same board that resided over the largest case of illegal sackings in Australian corporate history," TWU national secretary Michael Kaine said.

"Richard Goyder cannot make it through another day as chair.

"Qantas needs a fresh start. A worker voice on the board would make a significant difference and send the right signal that Qantas is serious about getting back on track."

The comments echo those of Labor Senator Tony Sheldon, who called on Goyder to follow former CEO Alan Joyce out the door last week.

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Sacked workers inside the courtroom pumped their fists in victory upon hearing the High Court's decision.

Australian Council of Trade Unions secretary Sally McManus, who attended the judgment, posted a celebratory photo on social media saying: "The workers win against Qantas in the High Court. We will always have the backs of workers."

Qantas was found in the Federal Court to have breached the Fair Work Act in outsourcing its ground operations to avoid enterprise bargaining rights, after the TWU took legal action against the carrier.

The airline, which retrenched workers in 2020, lost billions of dollars due to the pandemic, which decimated the aviation sector.

Justin Gleeson SC for Qantas, told the High Court in May the airline's revenue stream had been shattered by the pandemic which left it "bleeding cash".

The airline has since posted an underlying profit of almost $2.5 billion in the past financial year.

Qantas argued it could not have breached the workplace rights of the employees, as they did not have the right to take protected industrial action at the time of the decision to outsource.

In a statement, Qantas apologised for the "personal impact" of the decision to sack the workers.

"Qantas acknowledges and accepts the High Court's decision to uphold two prior rulings by the Federal Court regarding the legality of outsourcing the remainder of the airline's ground handling function in 2020," the airline said.

"The Federal Court originally found that while there were valid and lawful commercial reasons for the outsourcing, it could not rule out that Qantas also had an unlawful reason – namely, avoiding future industrial action.

"The High Court has now effectively upheld this interpretation.

"The decision to outsource the remainder of the airline's ground handling function was made in August 2020, when borders were closed, lockdowns were in place and no COVID vaccine existed.

"The likelihood of a years' long crisis led Qantas to restructure its business to improve its ability to survive and ultimately recover.

"As we have said from the beginning, we deeply regret the personal impact the outsourcing decision had on all those affected and we sincerely apologise for that.

"A prior decision by the Federal Court has ruled out reinstatement of workers but it will now consider penalties for the breach and compensation for relevant employees, which will factor in redundancy payments already made by Qantas."

Turning abandoned office buildings into residential apartments could be a solution to Australia's housing crisis, experts say.

A $125-million renovation has turned the old Australian Unity Insurance headquarters in Melbourne into a 15-story retirement village, inspiring builders in Melbourne and Sydney to replicate the idea.

Each two-bedroom assisted living apartment in the former office building is expected to fetch between $615,000 to $2 million.

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Kath Evens from Property Council Australia said the development would get builders and local councils in other states to think outside of the box.

"There's definitely going to be interest from current owners of those properties to think about how they can be used for other purposes," she said.

"This presents a real opportunity, and will enable us to solve a whole lot of problems."

There are a number of office buildings in Melbourne, Sydney and Queensland that have the potential to be turned into residential properties.

Almost 600 new apartments and 158 hotel rooms are expected to be green-lit at 338 Pitt Street, Sydney, bringing more residential properties to the city.

The build is expected to cost around $6300 per square metre.

In comparison, tearing the building down and starting from scratch would cost $6800 per square metre.

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There is also plenty of scope for more offices to be turned into homes outside of the CBD, with commercial vacancy rates the highest in Crows Nest, St Leonards, North Sydney and Parramatta.

"Bringing back residential uses and injecting that mixed vibrancy into our cities can only be a good thing," architect Jessica Lee told 9News.

Brisbane's office vacancy rates are at 11.6 per cent in the CBD.

But the Queensland government's framework amendments to address the housing supply crisis could make it slightly more difficult for developers to convert commercial buildings to residential properties. 

"Ensuring that it does meet the zoning requirement that can be quite a costly and time-consuming process also," Antonia Mercorella from the Real Estate Institute of Queensland said.

Some commercial buildings have already been converted to living apartments in Teneriffe, Brisbane.

Tributes are flowing for a beloved father, grandfather and philanthropist who died in a car crash on Melbourne's Bourke Street on Friday night.

John Haasz from Brunswick East was behind the wheel of his Hyundai when a car crashed through the intersection of Russell and Bourke streets into pedestrians and two other vehicles.

The 76-year-old died at the scene, while five other people were rushed to hospital.

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Haasz has since been remembered for his work in the academic field along with his prominent role within the University of Melbourne's Faculty of Science.

The university remembered the academic as a "generous and fiercely intelligent man" who valued knowledge and people.

The celebrated philanthropist was a contributor to the university since 2007, and was a passionate advocate for women in science, most recently contributing to the Women In Science Emerging Researcher program.

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Dean of Science Professor Moira O'Byran reflected on the broad impact Haasz had within the community.

"John's passion for Physics and STEM more broadly was a gift to the community and we are deeply saddened by his loss," she said.

"The impact his initiatives have had on academic careers over decades cannot be understated and we send our care to his family.

"He will be missed by his friends and colleagues here at the University."

A 26-year-old Melton West man was charged on Saturday night with one count of murder, three counts of attempted murder, three counts of intentionally causing serious injury and two counts of conduct endangering life over the crash.

An extortion plot for $100,000 over a false rape allegation was the last straw for the man defence lawyers say really killed Melbourne mum Ellie Price.

The 26-year-old was found dead from horrific stab injuries in the bedroom of her South Melbourne apartment on May 4, 2020.

Her boyfriend Ricardo Barbaro is standing trial for murder in the Victorian Supreme Court.

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But his barrister, Rishi Nathwani, says the evidence means jurors can't rule out brothel owner Mark Gray may have arranged for someone to kill her, and therefore must acquit.

Jurors heard Price had tried to extort Gray, the sugar daddy who paid for her apartment, car, clothes and a $2000 weekly allowance.

Gray told the court in two days of evidence during Barbaro's trial that he didn't want anything in exchange for all he provided, but Nathwani asked jurors if common sense and life experience backed that claim.

"Imagine getting all that given to you and going to find somebody else," he read from texts Gray sent to Price's sister Danielle after her death.

"At the end of the day she was replacing me with this guy… I was always the bridesmaid and never the bride."

Nathwani said the relationship between Gray and Price was one-way and it was clear Gray was getting upset and frustrated.

"This was the final straw for him," he said of the extortion plot.

The brothel owner risked losing his licence to operate his businesses if a rape allegation was made, the barrister said

"After years of being shunned, she went after his business."

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Gray had also professed to know some of the "meanest people in Melbourne" and had himself, more than two years ago, suggested defence would claim at trial that he had hired a hitman to kill Price because of the extortion plot.

Barbaro was arrested in NSW days after Price's death, after first travelling to Canberra.

Prosecutors suggested he fled the state to avoid being detected by police. But Nathwani said he didn't leave the state until May 5 – a day after Price's body was found and six days after it's believed she was killed.

He also questioned why a person running from the police would rent a van in their own name, using their driver's licence, from their father's employer as Barbaro had.

"It comes right back to you," he said. He suggested it was not unreasonable Barbaro, like his family, also had a mistrust of police given he had two brothers die with some police involvement.

Prosecutor Damien Hannan said in his closing address on Tuesday that defence had posed this case as a whodunnit, with Gray a distraction from the real issues of the trial.

But Nathwani suggested at the end of their deliberations jurors could not conclude Gray might not have been involved.

"Whodunnit? The distraction," he said.

Justice Lex Lasry will direct jurors on matters of law before they begin their deliberations.

People charged with rape and other sexual offences in Queensland can soon be named after new laws passed in the state today.

The laws will commence on October 3, meaning the identity of accused rapists and sex offenders can be reported.

Here's what we know about the changes.

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What has changed?

The changes are to the Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Act 1978 which currently prohibits media from reporting the identity of accused rapists or defendants facing charges for "prescribed sexual offences".

A prescribed sexual offence refers to rape, attempt to commit rape, assault with intent to commit rape and sexual assault.

Previously, the law meant the identity of the accused in a sexual assault case couldn't be published until they were committed to stand trial.

The Queensland parliament passed an update to the act on Wednesday, meaning alleged rapists or sex offenders can be publicly named in the media before they stand trial.

Soon, those accused of sexual offences will be treated the same as people charged with any other offence.

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The only way their identity is protected is if the accused, victim or prosecution apply to a court for a non-publication order.

But the application for a non-publication order will be scrutinised extensively with the court considering submissions made and views expressed by an alleged victim.

Accredited media will also be able to attend any hearings on a non-publication order application.

When does it start?

The legislation takes effect from October 3.

From that date, the accused's identity can be published with the only exception being if revealing the name would subsequently identify the victim.

What does it mean?

Justice and Prevention of Domestic and Family Violence Minister Yvette D'Ath said the changes put the interest of victims at the forefront of the judicial system.

"Rape and sexual assault are some of the most underreported criminal offences in Australia and we want to support victims to come forward and hold perpetrators to account," she said.

"Rape and sexual assault are some of the most underreported criminal offences in Australia and we want to support victims to come forward and hold perpetrators to account."

What are the laws around Australia?

The changes to Queensland laws bring the state closer in line with other states and territories except for the Northern Territory.

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In New South Wales, the complainant can't be identified unless there is permission by the court but the defendant can be identified without the court's permission.

In the ACT, the defendant can be identified but the complainant can't be identified by name "reference or allusion including allowing someone to find out their private, business or official address, email address or telephone number".

In South Australia, alleged rapists can be named from their first court appearance as long as it doesn't in any way identify the alleged victim.

In Western Australia, the identity of accused rapists can be published.

In Victoria, an accused sex offender can be identified.

In the Northern Territory, an accused rapist cannot be identified until after they're committed to stand trial.

Support is available from the National Sexual Assault, Domestic Family Violence Counselling Service at 1800RESPECT (1800 737 732).

Seymour has promoted Act’s policy in a media standup outside a dairy ram-raided in April.

David Seymour describes it as the ‘greatest piece of vandalism’ he has ever seen.

A third teenager has been charged over the alleged abduction and armed robbery of a schoolboy in Melbourne's east last week.

A 14-year-old boy was walking home with three friends when he was allegedly confronted by a group in a Volkswagen Tiguan about 3.35pm last Monday.

He was allegedly forced into the car, which drove along Neerim Road before he fell out in unknown circumstances near the intersection of Grange Road and sustained significant injuries.

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Police arrested a 14-year-old girl this morning in Langwarrin.

She has been charged with multiple offences including dangerous driving, armed robbery and theft of a motor vehicle.

The girl has been bailed to appear at a children's court at a later date.

Two boys, aged 14 and 15, have also been charged over the incident.