Australia Post's restructure after years of "headwinds" that have seen the government-owned service's profits and business dwindle is underway, with hundreds of corporate support jobs understood to go this financial year.

9News understands that the job losses, spread across head offices around the country, could total up to 400 by the end of June, with a number of cuts already made. But no final number has been confirmed.

An Australia Post spokesperson said no frontline jobs would be affected by the ongoing restructure.

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"Australia Post has for a number of years been flagging the significant structural headwinds it is facing," the spokesperson said.

"Globally, letter volumes are declining due to increasing uptake of technology. At its recent half-year financial results, Australia Post announced it will report a full-year loss, the first time since 2015.

"With ongoing letters losses, and parcels growth moderating, a new operating model for Australia Post's corporate support office is being introduced to simplify our business and operating support structures.

"This will, in part, help Australia Post respond to the financial pressures it is facing.

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"As an entirely self-funded business that receives no taxpayer funding, Australia Post needs to adapt the structure of its support office team to be more efficient and face into these challenges."

The spokesperson said the changes were "designed to allow Australia Post to continue its critical role for Australian communities into the future".

The government-owned service announced earlier this year it was on track for its first full-year loss since 2015.

CEO Paul Graham at the time said they would adopt a new strategy to reform corporate support operations, as he confirmed "the headwinds facing our business have never been stronger".

"Our Post26 strategy will help position Australia Post to be financially, socially and environmentally sustainable and enable the business to make a positive contribution to Australian communities, now and in the future," Graham said.

"We are focusing on streamlining our product portfolio making us easier to do business with and continuing to be a leader in sustainability.

"However, further changes to the way we operate are necessary."

The federal government also announced a review of the service in February.

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A large blob of warm ocean water in the Pacific has made the formation of an El Niño event more likely – but a lot is still up in the air – literally, one expert says.

The Bureau of Meteorology's (BoM) El Niño watch says there's approximately a 50 per cent chance one may develop later in 2023. 

Data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), shows the global mean ocean surface temperature is at record highs, peaking at 21.1C in early April; up 1.1C from the 21.0C seen in March 2016.

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CSIRO climate scientist, Dr Nandini Ramesh, said while warm ocean temperatures point towards a possible El Niño, it's still too early to tell if one will form.

"We think it's possible but we have to wait and see," she told 9news.com.au.

Ramesh explained that as of yet, only one of two key El Niño conditions have presented as the atmosphere needs to react to the warm water.

"Even if you do have that warm water it's not definite an El Niño will occur," she said.

"Right now the stage we are in is we know the warm water is there and we're waiting for the atmosphere to react.

"We think it's possible but we just have to wait and see". 

Ramesh said "it will become clearer if the atmosphere is reacting" in the winter months of June through to August.

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El Niño and La Niña events occur when the seawater in the tropical Pacific is either warmer or cooler; El Niño when it's warmer and La Niña cooler.

During an El Niño year, temperatures typically increase by about 0.2C; hot, dry conditions bring an increased risk of drought and bushfires.,

However Ramesh said talk about potential severity – or a super El Niño – is way too premature.

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"We can't say this early if there's going to be a huge or small El Niño," she said.

"We can't make predictions about the magnitude of the event so far out.

"And we're still at the stage where we're not sure if one will form or not."

Ramesh said El Niño events occur "every few years", and will typically last for around nine months.

"The usual pattern is it peaks around December, January," she said.

"We are way ahead of the peak right now.

"There's a lot of uncertainty." 

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A former intelligence officer was jailed for threatening to extort highly classified national security information after he believed he had been wronged.

The sentencing remarks for the man dubbed Witness J were made public on Wednesday after the unprecedented secrecy of his case sparked the attorney-general to launch a review of Australia's national security laws.

Justice John Burns found the man, also known under the pseudonym Alan Johns, disclosed sensitive information as a lever to persuade those he was dealing to comply with his wishes.

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Johns made a series of complaints over an unsecured platform that included classified information after his security clearance was revoked and he was fired.

One of five charges occurred over a period of an unspecified number of months and only stopped when Johns was arrested.

He was sentenced to two years and seven months in prison and spent 15 months behind bars before being released in mid-2019.

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The now-retired justice said he accepted Johns' distrust of official complaints processes, but it didn't mitigate the nature of the offending.

Burns said while there was no evidence the information was passed on to third parties or that national security was harmed – which would have made the charges more serious – it didn't discount the nature of the offence.

But he also contended the court may never know if Australia's national security had been contravened due to his actions.

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"There was a clear risk, albeit slight, that sensitive or confidential material may be disseminated… with potentially significant consequences," Burns said in his remarks.

"I accept this was not intended to be published to the world at large but it was a publication that carried with it a real, if not particularly significant risk, that it may be… disseminated."

But Burns said Johns' actions could only be considered to be a threat, despite him not intending to carry it out.

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"This was not merely an exercise in venting anger or frustration," he said.

"Your purpose in doing so could only have been to remind those that you were dealing with that you could hurt… Australia's security interests by disclosing the material in your possession."

Johns' defence lawyers contended his actions were a "grave lapse of judgment" and were not malicious as he didn't set out to deliberately harm national security.

Burns said while he accepted Johns didn't act in a malicious manner, "some of the risks to individuals had the potential to be quite grave".

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"I cannot accept you were unaware of the gravity of your conduct," he said, referring to Johns' long history in intelligence organisations.

"You were grossly reckless in your conduct because of your anger."

One doctor contended Johns' history of depression impaired his thinking when faced with what he perceived to be unfair treatment but wasn't the main factor.

Burns accepted his moral culpability should be slightly reduced as a result.

Johns' sentence was also reduced by 25 per cent due to his early guilty plea and reflected what Burns thought was a good prospect of rehabilitation due to the remorse Johns showed.

In releasing Burns' sentencing remarks, now ACT Chief Justice Lucy McCallum said the court had given appropriate scrutiny as to what was made public in the highly redacted remarks.

"Secrecy is anathema to the rule of law. The administration of justice thrives on the discipline that comes with public scrutiny," she said.

"That said, it is recognised in the authorities that the principle of open justice is not absolute. The logic of requiring secrecy… is cogent."

Australia's national security watchdog chastised the unprecedented secrecy around the case, which only came to light after Johns launched legal action against the jail for tipping off police about a memoir he was writing.

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A 270kg satellite is on track to crash into Earth sometime in the next day.

NASA projects there is a one in 2467 chance anybody will be harmed when their retired Reuven Ramaty High Energy Solar Spectroscopic Imager (RHESSI) comes to Earth at about 11.30am tomorrow (AEST).

The Department of Defence said they have an uncertainty window of 16 hours either way, which means it could crash into Earth this afternoon or Friday morning.

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RHESSI was launched into low-Earth orbit in 2002, and spent the next 16 years observing solar flares and coronal mass ejections.

But after irreparable communications faults with the satellite, it was retired in 2018.

NASA expects most of the satellite to break up on re-entry, but expects some components to survive until they hit the ground.

"During its mission tenure, RHESSI recorded more than 100,000 X-ray events, allowing scientists to study the energetic particles in solar flares," a NASA statement said.

"The imager helped researchers determine the particles' frequency, location, and movement, which helped them understand where the particles were being accelerated."

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And while 270kg may seem like a substantial size for something hurtling to Earth, it is far from the biggest lately.

In November a 21-tonne rocket came crashing to Earth five days after it carried a module of China's space station into space.

That rocket crashed into the South Pacific without incident.

A particular patch of the South Pacific is a common target for falling spacecraft.

The spacecraft cemetery, located about halfway between New Zealand and Chile, is the furthest point on Earth from any land.

The patch of ocean is also well outside the jurisdiction of any country, meaning there few regulatory hurdles associated with crashing your spacecraft here.

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The case of a father who was quoted $40,000 to bury his young son in Sydney has highlighted how burial plots in the city's cemeteries have fallen to crisis levels.

John contacted Ben Fordham on 2GB radio this week for help in accessing his superannuation to pay for the burial of his son, Justin, who was 24.

He said one funeral director quoted $40,000 for the burial at Rookwood cemetery in Sydney's west.

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https://omny.fm/shows/ben-fordham-full-show/grief-exploited-funeral-director-quotes-40-000-for/embed?style=cover

While graves are available for between $10,000 and $15,000, other sections can be more expensive.

Fordham said there were concerns some funeral companies were exploiting grieving families.

"That is daylight robbery," he said of John's case.

Today the NSW Minister for Lands, Stephen Kamper, is set to announce the appointment of an administrator to overhaul Sydney's cemeteries.

The state government will also launch an urgent audit into available burial space.

Kamper told 2GB the state government is "determined to provide a fresh start" amid concern available burial land has dropped to "alarming levels".

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A 2021 report found all Crown cemeteries will run out of burial space within 12 years.

Sydney's Eastern Suburbs faced the biggest pressure, but space available at the Rookwood, Botany, Field of Mars and Macquarie Park cemeteries was also running out. 

The report also warned funeral operators had combined debts of $300 million and were in danger of a "financial collapse".

Late last year, plans were announced for a huge block of land in Sydney's west to become the largest cemetery approved in the city for 70 years.

The planned Western Sydney Cemetery Complex is a 73-hectare block of land on Greendale Road in Wallacia, which was approved to be a cemetery.

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Nearly 300 Tyrannosaurus rex bones that were dug up from three sites in the United States and assembled into a single skeleton have sold at an auction in Switzerland for 4.8 million francs ($7.95 million), below the expected price.

Crafted into an open-mouth pose, the T. rex skeleton measuring 11.6 metres long and 3.9 metres high came in under the anticipated range of 5 million to 8 million francs when it went under the hammer at the Koller auction house in Zurich.

Koller had said Tuesday's sale would be the first time such a T. rex skeleton would go up for auction in Europe.

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The composite skeleton, featuring 293 bones, was a showpiece of an auction that featured some 70 lots, and the skull was set up next to the auctioneer's podium throughout.

"It could be that it was a composite — that could be why the purists didn't go for it," Karl Green, the auction house's marketing director, said by phone.

"It's a fair price for the dino. I hope it's going to be shown somewhere in public."

Green did not identify the buyer, but said it was a "European private collector".

Including the "buyer's premium" and fees, the sale came to 5.5 million Swiss francs (about $9.11 million), Koller said.

Promoters said the composite T. rex, dubbed "Trinity", was built from specimens retrieved from three sites in the Hell Creek and Lance Creek formations of Montana and Wyoming between 2008 and 2013.

Koller said "original bone material" comprised more than half of the restored skeleton.

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The auction house said the skull was particularly rare and also remarkably well-preserved.

"When dinosaurs died in the Jurassic or Cretaceous periods, they often lost their heads during deposition (of the remains into rocks). In fact, most dinosaurs are found without their skulls," said Nils Knoetschke, a scientific adviser who was quoted in the auction catalog.

"But here we have truly original Tyrannosaurus skull bones that all originate from the same specimen."

T. rex roamed the Earth between 65 and 67 million years ago.

A study published two years ago in the journal Science estimated that about 2.5 billion of the dinosaurs ever lived.

Hollywood movies such as the blockbuster Jurassic Park franchise have added to the public fascination with the carnivorous creature.

The two areas the bones for Trinity came from were also the source of other T. rex skeletons that were auctioned off, according to Koller: Chicago's Field Museum of Natural History bought "Sue" for $US8.4 million $12.48 million) more than a quarter-century ago, and "Stan" sold for nearly $US32 million ($47.56 million) three years ago.

Two years ago, a triceratops skeleton that the Guinness World Records declared as the world's biggest, known as "Big John," was sold for €6.6 million ($10.76 million) to a private collector at a Paris auction.

A father from Geelong, Victoria says he is at his breaking point after unsuccessfully searching for a rental property for 17 months.

Alistair Turner, 39, has resorted to living in a caravan with his family in his parents' front yard to avoid homelessness after applying to more than 175 rental properties.

Despite being employed full-time with a good rental history, he was unable to lock down a home for his young family.

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"I don't want to accept the fact that this is where I live, I want a property, I want to raise my children in a house," he told 9News.

"As a father and as a partner you feel embarrassed, you can't provide.

"We've also gone (to) community housing, when we first looked into it we were told there was a 1.5-year waiting list."

Turner and his family have been living in the caravan for 17 months.

Property experts say the problem is not just affecting Turner, telling 9News there's too much demand for the available supply – and it's only getting worse.

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"Just this week I had a property in Point Cook – we are looking at about $440/450 (a week) as the rent, I got 57 applications," Kazween Marker from Marker Realty said.

While the situation is dire, Marker shared a few tips to help break through the noise on rental applications. 

"There is a part (on applications) where tenants can put in a little description of themselves," she said.

"Give us details of your previous rental history, employment reference, paychecks."

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A South Australian councillor is under fire after video footage of her shouting profanities at a council meeting surfaced.

In the video footage obtained by 9News, Salisbury councillor Severina Burner, can be heard telling another council member to "F— off" as he tries to call the meeting to order.

"Make it clear what exactly we're voting on and don't make us look like idiots, make it clear so I don't look like an idiot," she can be heard saying before unleashing the profanity.

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Burner then abruptly leaves the online meeting.

The meeting took place weeks ago, but the footage is only now coming to light.

The outburst angered Mayor Gillian Aldridge, who said the behaviour was unacceptable.

"Disappointing, it's just not how councillors should behave, it's just not acceptable," she said.

9News reached out to Burner, but she declined to comment. 

Many ratepayers were also unimpressed, as was Blair Boyer, a member of the South Australian House Assembly.

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"Severina has turned into a bit of a sideshow and she's bringing it into disrepute the entire council," Boyer said.

"I'm a ratepayer of Salisbury council and the stuff that Severina Burner is putting out there are not the things everyday ratepayers care about.

"You're taking away from the things people elected you to do."

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An Adelaide father-of-five and veteran died hiking the Kokoda Track with his son for charity.

Paul Miller and his son Aaron travelled to Papua New Guinea to hike the track with "a small group of veterans and first responders" to raise money for Operation K9.

His wife Amanda Kaplan said the "passionate advocate for veterans" is believed to have suffered a heart attack on Sunday, the second day of the 96-kilometre trek, after covering 18.5 km.

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"Despite all efforts of assistance and of CPR, Paul was airlifted out and it has been confirmed that he had passed away on arrival at the hospital," Kaplin said.

She thanked those who tried to revive the veteran and escorted their son back to Australia.

"In true Dusty style, he went out with a bang – doing something that he has always wanted to do… Kokoda," she said.

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"We would love this opportunity to spread the awareness and fundraising efforts that Paul was aspiring to achieve.

"Please remember our veterans during Anzac Day, Paul was a proud and extremely well-respected member of the veteran community."

Miller was described as a "dearly loved" partner, father, uncle, son, brother, mate, veteran and sports fan.

He joined the Australian Defence Force as a 16-year-old vehicle mechanic apprentice in 1991 and was posted to Brisbane, Toowoomba, Townsville, Darwin and Adelaide before he was discharged in 2014.

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During this time he was deployed to International Force East Timor, Iraq, Timor Leste and Afghanistan.

In total, he served for 24 years full-time and two years in the reserves.

After being medically discharged due to service-related mental health issues, he became an advocate for veterans.

The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade confirmed it was providing consular assistance to the family.

"We send our deepest condolences to the family," a spokesperson said yesterday.

The Kokoda Track Authority manages the trail where an estimated 625 Australians were killed fighting and more than 1600 were wounded in the bloody five-month campaign fought between Australian and Japanese soldiers in World War II.

It warns trekkers the trail is a "challenging experience both physically and emotionally".

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A 33-year-old Cambridge man is before the courts on burglary and theft charges.