badges indicated which union they were a member, and which shift they worked on if they were miners. In 1977, the BIC engaged in industrial action directed at the City of Broken Hill which culminated in the resignation of the city council, including mayor Noel Hicks, and the appointment of administrators by the state government. The conflict occurred when a council employee, Noel Latham, refused to pay a fine imposed by the BIC. As a result, other workers refused to work with Latham, "resulting in a two-week pile-up of garbage". The BIC then excluded Latham from its membership by refusing to issue him a badge and asked the city council to dismiss him. The council believed there was no legal grounds to dismiss Latham, as a result of which 97 council employees working in garbage collection, sanitation services and road works staged a walk-out. The influence of the BIC has declined to some extent with the decline in mining employment in the town, as well as greater state and federal government regulation, but it is still an important organisation in local politics. Further reading Ellem, Bradon and Shields, John, 'Making a 'Union Town': Class, Gender and Consumption in Inter-War Broken Hill', Labour History, vol. 78, 2000, pp. 116–140. Ellem, Bradon and Shields, John, 'Placing Peak Union Purpose and Power: The Origins, Dominance and Decline of the Barrier Industrial Council', Economic and Labour Relations Review, vol. 12, no. 1, 2001, pp. 61–84. Ellem, Brandon and Shields, John, 'Making the 'Gibraltar of Unionism': Union Organising and Peak Union Agency in Broken Hill, 1886-1930', Labour History, vol. 83, 2002, pp. 65–88 Dale, George, The Industrial History of Broken Hill, Fraser and Jenkinson, Melbourne, 1918. Howard, William A., Barrier bulwark: the life and times of Shorty O'Neil, Willry, 1990. References Sydney 'Shorty' O'Neil (1903-2000): the King of Broken Hill by John Shields (Workers Online Issue 69, 2000) External links Barrier Industrial Council Australian labour movement Broken Hill, New South Wales Trades councils Economy of New South Wales