NAB Underpaid Staff $127 Million Over 14 Years
NAB underpaid its staff $127 million over 14 years, according to Australian news reports on November 12, 2026. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese also defended Australia's climate record as the UN chief pushed for more, and David Jones said half its stores will close.
Australia news on Thursday, November 12, 2026: NAB underpaid staff $127 million over 14 years. The figure headlined the day's national coverage, alongside a climate dispute at the top of government and fresh job losses in retail.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese insisted Australia is playing its part as a climate action leader. The head of the United Nations is pressing Australia and COP31 host Turkey to push a more ambitious agenda on fossil fuels at this year's climate conference.
Budget pressure and rate rises
Tax breaks for electric vehicles and home batteries could be cut as Labor looks for billions in spending cuts to lower inflation. The government faces that pressure after five rate hikes this year. They were driven by the war in Iran, the data centre boom, high federal and state spending and weak domestic productivity.
ANZ chief executive Nuno Matos warned a parliamentary committee that the world economy faces a "dangerous situation". Governments and private companies are competing for cash just as interest rates start climbing, he said.
Matos said funding AI, defence, infrastructure and government deficits was "nothing seen in the past".
Housing data and political sparring
Australian Bureau of Statistics figures released Wednesday showed first home buyer loans fell 8.6 per cent in the three months to September. Investor loans dropped 30.6 per cent.
Opposition Leader Angus Taylor seized on the data in Sydney. "Everywhere you look, you can see that our housing market is in chaos," he told reporters. He accused Housing Minister Clare O'Neil of gaslighting Australians after she touted Labor's budget tax changes.
In Victoria, One Nation state leader Warren Pickering attacked the Coalition at the Melbourne Press Club. He said it was "desperately seeking to match One Nation's momentum" and targeted Liberal leader Jess Wilson over net zero. The Coalition is preferencing One Nation above Labor at the state's upcoming election.
Retail and rail
David Jones told staff and suppliers on Wednesday that half its stores would close after the Christmas trading period. Receivers are trying to make the business viable again.
A teenager fell from a train on the Sydney Harbour Bridge at about 11.30am on Thursday. A medical team was flown to the scene. The incident happened in the rail corridor between Wynyard and Milsons Point stations.
Services were suspended in both directions for a period and have since resumed. Delays are expected.
Overseas, Spanish workers staged a general strike over rising prices and soaring rents. Thousands took to the streets demanding better wages and government services.
