Moree Plains vs Balonne

Moree Plains and Balonne are both sprawling rural areas, but they differ greatly in how easy it is to get around without a car. Balonne is far more walkable, with a typical walkability score of 3.1 (mostly car-dependent) compared to 1.8 (car-dependent) in Moree Plains. This is reflected in the distance to essential services; for example, 51.3% of Balonne homes are within a 15-minute walk of health services, while only 15.7% of homes in Moree Plains have the same access.

Both areas are very flat, with a mean terrain slope of around 3%. In Balonne, First Nations Year 12 completion is well higher at 28.7%, which is still well below the national figure. First Nations household incomes are almost identical in both places, sitting around $1,200. The gap in walkability has grown over time, with Balonne seeing a far higher increase in the share of homes within a 15-minute-city walkshed.