Nicky Winmar removed from WA Football Hall of Fame

Good morning, readers, and welcome to our live news blog for Thursday, July 16.

Making headlines today is the first strike in WA’s Pilbara in decades; BHP workers at the miner’s Port Hedland operations are preparing for an eight-hour walkout as they bargain for better pay conditions.

And an expert has warned other Pilbara workers will “take notice” of the strike, which is expected to cost BHP up to $50 million.

Lecturer in labor and employment relations at Edith Cowan University. Alexis Vassiley said strikes were frequent in the Pilbara in the 70s and 80s: “But since 1999 all the iron ore companies have eliminated significant union influence, so it is in a sense a union-free zone.”