Barcaldine - Blackall - Longreach vs Charters Towers

Barcaldine - Blackall - Longreach and Charters Towers are two Queensland regions with very different layouts. Charters Towers has more Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people (916 compared to 548) and far more street intersections per square kilometre. Access to local spots also differs; Charters Towers has a far higher share of homes within a 15-minute walk of parks (76.0% versus 62.2%) and groceries (59.6% versus 49.3%). In contrast, Barcaldine - Blackall - Longreach has a far higher share of homes within a 15-minute walk of health services (53.4% versus 40.4%).

Both areas are mostly car-dependent and have almost no homes within a 10-minute walk of public transport. The gap in First Nations unemployment is particularly wide, and it is far higher in Charters Towers (16.5%) than in Barcaldine - Blackall - Longreach (5.7%). This contrast is consistent with the typical personal income for First Nations people, which is well higher in Barcaldine - Blackall - Longreach at $678, compared to $474 in Charters Towers.