Former US president Barack Obama and his wife Michelle met with prime minister Anthony Albanese to talk about the global economy before the pair toured Sydney.

Albanese said he and Obama had a "very positive meeting" where they discussed the invasion of Ukraine and the global supply constraints.

"I had a very positive meeting with President Obama this morning in Sydney, talking about the global economy and what was occurring," Albanese said.

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"The Russian invasion of Ukraine, as well as the supply side constraints when it comes to the pandemic, have meant that there is upward pressure on energy prices."

Obama and his wife flew into Sydney on a private jet last night and were seen at disembarking at 7.30pm yesterday before being quickly moved by security into a hire car.

The pair attended Kirribilli house to meet with Albanese where locals were happy to see them.

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"We were just trying to get home for a cup of coffee when we were stopped by the federal police because we had a vistor in town," one local said.

"I'd invited the lad over for some Anzac biscuits but he'd given me the go-by.

"Good to see the man here, he's a bit of a hero I suppose nationwide and internationally."

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The Obamas then headed to Collins Flat Beach before checking out Balmoral where they had lunch at Bather's Pavilion.

The Obamas are in the country for Barack's "An Evening with President Obama" tour.

Aussies with tickets to the hotly-anticipated event have forked out almost $200 for a standard seat, with tickets priced at a whopping $895 for a "platinum" spot.

Barack's first event will be held in Sydney on Tuesday before the former president jets off to Melbourne for a second night.

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It's a rare public appearance for the couple, who have seldom been photographed together in recent months.

The former politician served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017.

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A former SAS soldier charged with a war crime while serving in Afghanistan has sought bail claiming his safety could be at risk from Islamic terrorists while behind bars.

The man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was arrested by the Australian Federal Police last Monday and has spent a week behind bars.

He has been charged with the unlawful killing of an Afghan man in a wheat field while deployed as a member of the Australian Defence Force.

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The man sought bail on Monday in Sydney's Downing Centre Local Court, where his barrister Phillip Boulten SC argued he faced serious risks to his personal safety and had to be segregated from other inmates.

"Wherever this man is going to be held in prison, he is likely to have to mix with people in prison who sympathise with the Taliban or with other Islamic extremist groups," Boulten said.

"This is a case of an ex-army officer being in prison charged with this crime. He is extremely vulnerable where he is at the moment."

The alleged incident was aired on an ABC Four Corners episode in March 2020.

After the broadcast, then-defence minister Linda Reynolds referred the matter to the AFP.

The soldier was suspended from duty and later terminated from the ADF on medical grounds.

As part of the AFP investigation, officers searched his home in May 2022.

This is the first time a serving or former Australian defence force member has faced a war crime charge of murder under domestic law.

Boulten urged the court to suppress the ex-soldier's name and where he lived, saying this information could pose a danger if publicly revealed, particularly as the Taliban was now the lawful government of Afghanistan.

"There is a state actor who has an interest in what he did in their country and (there) are literally hundreds if not thousands of people in custody who would be set against him for what he did."

Defence personnel need comprehensive protection of their identities both while they served and afterwards, Magistrate Jennifer Atkinson heard.

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The man, who appeared by video link wearing prison greens, posed no risk to the community, having lived a lawful life in Australia, and could be released on bail before trial, the barrister argued.

He said the ex-soldier remained in the country without fleeing despite knowing he was under investigation for years and up to $1 million in surety could be offered to ensure he turned up to court.

The man would also have difficulty consulting with lawyers from behind bars, given security measures put in place concerning material relevant to the case which, if divulged, could cause national security issues, the court was told.

Crown prosecutor Sean Flood opposed bail, saying there was no evidence the man would be in danger in jail.

"Corrective Services are putting in place appropriate mechanisms to ensure (his) safety," Flood said.

The possibility of the man fleeing the country also remained because there was a difference between an investigation where charges were merely possible to being arrested for this type of crime, the prosecutor argued.

"There's clearly a strong motivation to flee once a person is charged with such a serious offence involving a maximum penalty of life imprisonment."

Atkinson is due to deliver her bail decision on Tuesday.

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Former NRL player Jarryd Hayne's barrister has told a Sydney jury evidence from the woman he is accused of sexually assaulting is not enough to convince them he's guilty.

The NSW District Court jury retired to consider its verdict on Monday, following a two-week trial.

Margaret Cunneen SC told jurors the woman "was much less than honest" with police, gave inaccurate evidence and "put the boot in", accusing Hayne of sexual assault after a "disappointing" end to a meeting she had insisted on.

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Hayne, 35, has pleaded not guilty to two counts of sexual intercourse without consent and is facing a third trial over the allegations.

The woman he is accused of assaulting cannot be identified for legal reasons.

Her previously recorded evidence was played to the jury in closed court.

Prosecutors allege the woman conveyed she was not consenting through her words and actions after Hayne arrived at her suburban Newcastle home on the night of the 2018 NRL grand final, on September 30.

The matter was referred to police by the NRL's Integrity Unit in November.

Hayne was a star player for the Parramatta Eels, represented NSW in State of Origin and played internationally for Australia and Fiji during his professional career.

Cunneen told the jury the woman did not want to go to police, because she knew no crime had been committed.

"This accelerating train that starts when someone gets wind of an allegation of sexual assault is very hard to jump off," Cunneen said in her closing address on Monday.

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Media reports presented a "more damaging picture" of Hayne than the jury knows was the case, she added.

"You're not here to determine whether everything Hayne does is the nice thing, the polite thing," she said.

She labelled as distractions, the evidence of Hayne leaving a taxi waiting outside the woman's home and a bottle of pre-mixed alcohol on her letterbox, which she reminded the jury he picked up when he returned to the taxi.

"These are the things that don't really help you with your determination," she said.

Hayne faced serious criminal charges requiring proof beyond a reasonable doubt, and his evidence about what occurred should be accepted as being "at least a reasonable possibility", the barrister said.

"Not that you would think this, but even if you thought Mr Hayne was probably guilty, that's not enough," Cunneen said.

"If there was a fairly hurried intimate encounter … something disappointing happens, a person can be sad and alone and looking for help.

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"And if you don't get help by telling the truth you might embellish it."

Cunneen said text messages sent to Hayne were deleted from the woman's phone and other messages to a solicitor she communicated with on social media were initially concealed.

She said the woman "upped the ante" after telling a friend of the encounter and being told "that's rape".

Judge Graham Turnbull reminded the jury Hayne had the same presumption of innocence and benefit of doubt as any other person facing a criminal accusation.

His evidence should be assessed for reliability and truthfulness in the same way as other witnesses, including the woman's, the judge said.

He also directed jurors not to resort to stereotypes or pre-conceived ideas.

"There's no typical or normal response to non-consensual sexual activity," he said.

The jury of six women and six men are considering a verdict.

A massive project is underway to construct an 'energy superhighway' connecting three states.

Transmission lines will be created promising to build up a more reliable grid, bring down power bills and secure Australia's clean energy future.

Critical work is underway to transform the nation's energy future in a dusty, back corner of New South Wales where Transgrid is building the lines that will connect that state with South Australia and Victoria.

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Transgrid CEO Brett Redman said it will make the system more secure and lower costs.

"It will move renewable energy into the cities, it will also move energy between the states," Redman said.

To construct the towers workers climb more than 40 metres above the ground in the delicate operation.

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It is Australia's biggest transmission project.

A total of 1500 towers will be built, eventually connecting 900 kilometres of line.

It will extend from Buronga in NSW to Wagga Wagga, Robertstown in South Australia and Red Cliffs in Victoria and also link to other new projects in the pipeline, all harnessing power from renewable energy zones.

It will prove crucial in the next decade as five power plants retire, which currently account for 13 per cent of the east coast's electricity capacity.

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"To get energy from where it will be produced in the future, out in the regions with renewable energy, wind and solar, into the cities," Redman said.

"Coal is closing, renewables need to be built. If we don't get our skates on and get there in good time we're going to find that we'll struggle."

Transgrid says it will cut household electricity bills by $64 a year in New South Wales and $ 100 in South Australia once it's up and running, hopefully by the end of next year.

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But it won't come soon enough for this winter when its predicted Aussies will be paying at least 20 per cent more for power.

Daniel Ricciardo may be taking time off from racing but that doesn't mean he's not getting behind the wheel at some remarkable spots.

In a new Red Bull video released ahead of the Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne this weekend, he's in the driver's seat of an RB7 on some unusual terrain.

Far from the smooth race tracks, the 33-year-old takes his F1 car for a spin in a uniquely Australian landscape with some fellow motor racing superstars.

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In the spectacular cross-country trip, the 33-year-old manoeuvred through man-made dust storms in the outback with some aerial assistance.

Ricciardo takes on the coastline, crossing the impressive sea cliff bridge in Wollongong, before he's back off-road meeting Dakar Rally champion Toby Price in the bush.

The nine-minute long clip boasts scenes often seen in a movie, and features appearances from fellow Red Bull athletes Daniel Sanders, Matt Hall, Toby Price and Shane van Gisbergen.

As ferocious fires tore through NSW during Black Summer, weary firefighters felt a profound sense of relief when they saw air-tankers flying overhead.

That's why three American firefighters who died when their water-bombing plane crashed in January 2020 will always be honoured among Australia's fallen, Rural Fire Service field operations deputy commissioner Peter McKechnie told an inquest.

"They'll be remembered by the entire country for their bravery, courage and for helping fight some of the worst fires this state and country have ever seen," McKechnie said on Monday, his voice cracking with emotion.

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The long-running inquest into the 2019-20 fire season is examining the deaths of Captain Ian McBeth, 44, first officer Paul Clyde Hudson, 42, and flight engineer Rick DeMorgan Jr, 43, who were killed their tanker crashed in southern NSW on January 23.

The Lockheed EC-130Q LAT stalled at low altitude after dropping fire retardant.

The inquest heard the Richmond air base received formal details of the crew's task, including destination coordinates, two hours after they were deployed and just minutes before the crash.

McKechnie said it was optimal for crews to have all information, but it was not always possible on extreme fire days when there were hundreds of blazes.

"Given the impending threat to life and property, it was seen as expedient to get the LAT mobilised," he said.

Senior members of the RFS were advised small aircraft were unable to fly that morning due to dangerous weather, but a supervising plane known as a birddog would monitor and report back on conditions.

In a briefing phone call played to the inquest, then deputy commissioner Rob Rogers told crews not to wait for the birddog and send a LAT towards the town of Adaminaby, which was under extreme threat.

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McKechnie, who was also on the call, said he agreed with the decision even when he heard the birddog crew rejected the task to fly.

"I was confident in being able to task a LAT," he said.

"They have better operating parameters in rougher flying conditions and also (I had) confidence in those pilots to be able to make the decision in whether they would be able to, firstly, fly there and then operate in that area."

The RFS has since established a new role of LAT co-ordinator to support tanker crews.

John Gallaher, the director of flight operations at Coulson Aviation, the US company that employed the men, said the pilot did everything to stop the plane stalling, but it appeared the aircraft met with an extreme and sudden wind change.

An Australian Transport Safety Bureau report into the crash, which has been tendered at the inquest, found Coulson Aviation did not include a windshear recovery procedure in its flight manual.

Gallaher said recovery from windshear was a central part of pilot training and the crew had taken all the "textbook" steps.

"They were the highest quality men that I've had the pleasure to work with," Gallaher said.

"They were three incredible people."

The inquest continues before State Coroner Teresa O'Sullivan.

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Former Invercargill mayor is getting short-term respite care.

It comes after a week of tensions and MP injured at trans-rights rally.

It was Mark Twain who popularised the phrase "there's gold in them thar hills" in 1892 and it's now clear those words still apply for country Victoria.

That's where an amateur prospector has struck it rich, discovering a nugget worth a staggering $240,000.

The man was using a Minelab Equinox 800 metal detector, a budget model that retails for about $1200.

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Suspecting the rock he had unearthed could be valuable, he took it to gold trader Darren Kamp, from Lucky Strike Gold, for valuation.

"He said, 'do you think there's $10,000 worth?' And as soon as it hit my hand I said, 'try $100,000'," Kamp told 9News.

"And he said, 'oh wow, the wife's going to be happy with that'."

That's when the prospector told Kamp he had only brought half the nugget in for inspection, the other half was back home.

"It's a once-in-a-lifetime find," Kamp said.

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The rock was discovered in Victoria's "Golden Triangle", an area from Ballarat across to Bendigo and up to St Arnaud.

It weighs 4.6 kilograms and that includes 2.6 kilograms of gold.

With the value of gold soaring recently, there's never been a better time to find and sell the precious metal and even tiny nuggets can be worth more than $1000.

"If it's got your name on it, you'll find it," Kamp told 9News.

"You just need some luck and persistence. It's like Tattslotto: you're never going to win unless you've got a ticket."

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The organisation which represents and promotes CBD businesses says ‘it’s dead’.