The Shire of Moree Plains, located on the New South Wales

New South Wales

New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...

 side of the border with Queensland

Queensland

Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...

, is one of the largest Local Government

Local government

Local government refers collectively to administrative authorities over areas that are smaller than a state.The term is used to contrast with offices at nation-state level, which are referred to as the central government, national government, or federal government...

 areas in the State.

Also known as the Spa Capital of Australia, the township of Moree

Moree, New South Wales

Moree is a large town in Moree Plains Shire in northern New South Wales, Australia. It is located on the banks of the Mehi River in the centre of the rich black-soil plains....

 is a regional centre with daily air and rail links to Sydney

Sydney

Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...

. Moree is situated at the crossroads of the Newell

Newell Highway

The Newell Highway is the longest highway in New South Wales, Australia. It runs parallel to the eastern coast about 400 kilometres inland, and is the main inland direct road link from Victoria to Queensland, bypassing the more congested coastal areas of New South Wales...

 and Gwydir Highway

Gwydir Highway

The Gwydir Highway is a 567 kilometre highway in northern New South Wales, Australia. It was named after the Gwydir River, which in turn was named for a locale in Wales....

s, both major inland transport corridors for Eastern Australia.

The Moree Hot Artesian Pool Complex, first established in 1896, attracts visitors from around Australia and overseas to "take the waters", an activity particularly popular with immigrants from eastern and southern Europe and eastern Asia. Moree itself sits at the south-eastern extremity of the Great Artesian Basin

Great Artesian Basin

The Great Artesian Basin provides the only reliable source of freshwater through much of inland Australia. The basin is the largest and deepest artesian basin in the world, stretching over a total of , with temperatures measured ranging from 30°C to 100°C...

, a vast underground water resource covering much of eastern and central Australia.
The Shire has a relatively high Indigenous Australian population (seventeen per cent), and in recent years has achieved recognition for its Aboriginal Employment Strategy, targeting indigenous employment in the mainstream workforce through a process of mentoring and counselling of both employer and employee.

The town of Mungindi

Mungindi, New South Wales

Mungindi is a town on the border of New South Wales and Queensland in Moree Plains Shire. It possesses a New South Wales postcode. Mungindi sits on the Carnarvon Highway and straddles the Barwon River which is the border between New South Wales and Queensland...

 (2001 population: 645), which straddles the New South Wales/Queensland border, is custodian of the world's largest survey peg, the One Ton Post, which marks the start of the colonial border survey of 1881 from Mungindi to Cameron's Corner at South Australia. The Shire also includes the towns and villages of: Ashley, Boomi, Boggabilla

Boggabilla, New South Wales

Boggabilla is a small town in the far north of inland New South Wales, Australia in Moree Plains Shire. In 2006, the town had a population of 647 people....

 (2001 population: 667), Garah

Garah, New South Wales

Garah is a village in Moree Plains Shire, New South Wales, Australia. At the 2006 census, Garah and the surrounding area had a population of 336.It is located 51 kilometres northwest of Moree on the Carnarvon Highway. Local activities include agriculture...

, Pallamallawa

Pallamallawa, New South Wales

Pallamallawa is a small rural village located approximately 30 kilometers east of Moree, in Northwestern New South Wales, Australia. It is on the banks of the Gwydir River, two kilometers north of the Gwydir Highway between Inverell and Moree...

 (307), Gurley

Gurley, New South Wales

Gurley is a small town in the northwest of New South Wales, Australia, located between Narrabri and Moree. The Newell Highway and the North-West railway line pass through the township. A now-closed railway station opened in 1897....

 and Weemelah.

Moree Plains Shire is the most productive agricultural Local Government area in Australia, averaging around A$1Billion per year in agricultural primary production.

Current produce includes wheat

Wheat

Wheat is a cereal grain, originally from the Levant region of the Near East, but now cultivated worldwide. In 2007 world production of wheat was 607 million tons, making it the third most-produced cereal after maize and rice...

, barley

Barley

Barley is a major cereal grain, a member of the grass family. It serves as a major animal fodder, as a base malt for beer and certain distilled beverages, and as a component of various health foods...

, sorghum

Sorghum

Sorghum is a genus of numerous species of grasses, one of which is raised for grain and many of which are used as fodder plants either cultivated or as part of pasture. The plants are cultivated in warmer climates worldwide. Species are native to tropical and subtropical regions of all continents...

, pulses, cotton

Cotton

Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective capsule, around the seeds of cotton plants of the genus Gossypium. The fiber is almost pure cellulose. The botanical purpose of cotton fiber is to aid in seed dispersal....

, maize

Maize

Maize known in many English-speaking countries as corn or mielie/mealie, is a grain domesticated by indigenous peoples in Mesoamerica in prehistoric times. The leafy stalk produces ears which contain seeds called kernels. Though technically a grain, maize kernels are used in cooking as a vegetable...

, beef

Beef

Beef is the culinary name for meat from bovines, especially domestic cattle. Beef can be harvested from cows, bulls, heifers or steers. It is one of the principal meats used in the cuisine of the Middle East , Australia, Argentina, Brazil, Europe and the United States, and is also important in...

, sheep, wool

Wool

Wool is the textile fiber obtained from sheep and certain other animals, including cashmere from goats, mohair from goats, qiviut from muskoxen, vicuña, alpaca, camel from animals in the camel family, and angora from rabbits....

, olives, pecan

Pecan

The pecan , Carya illinoinensis, is a species of hickory, native to south-central North America, in Mexico from Coahuila south to Jalisco and Veracruz, in the United States from southern Iowa, Illinois, Missouri, and Indiana east to western Kentucky, southwestern Ohio, North Carolina, South...

s, and canola

Canola

Canola refers to a cultivar of either Rapeseed or Field Mustard . Its seeds are used to produce edible oil suitable for consumption by humans and livestock. The oil is also suitable for use as biodiesel.Originally, Canola was bred naturally from rapeseed in Canada by Keith Downey and Baldur R...

.

Demographics

According to the Australian Bureau Statistics , there:

- were 15,991 people as at 30 June 2006, the 81st largest Local Government Area in New South Wales. It was equal to 0.2% of the New South Wales population of 6,827,694

- was an increase of 34 people over the year to 30 June 2006, the 110th largest population growth in a Local Government Area in New South Wales. It was equal to less than 0.1% of the 58,753 increase in the population of New South Wales

- was, in percentage terms, an increase of 0.2% in the number of people over the year to 30 June 2006, the 120th fastest growth in population of a Local Government Area in New South Wales. In New South Wales the population grew by 0.9%

- was an increase in population over the 10 years to 30 June 2001 of 627 people or 4.1% (0.4% in annual average terms), the 76th highest rate of a Local Government Area in New South Wales. In New South Wales the population grew by 622,966 or 10% (1.0% in annual average terms) over the same period.

According to the research report "Social and Economic Analysis of the Moree Community" released by Cotton Catchment Communities CRC which contradicts the above assertion 04:47, 22 August 2011 (UTC):

- Population and employment in Moree Plains has steadily declined over the last two decades. Between 2001 and 2006 Moree Plains saw the greatest net migration change amongst the study areas with 1741 people moving out of the area.

- There was a corresponding decline in employment.

- In 2005-06 the Moree Plains economy was estimated to have a Gross Regional Product of $605m.

- The unstable economy is not conducive to investment and development, including the provision of services.

Incomes

According to the Australian Bureau Statistics during 2003-04, there:

- were 4,767 wage and salary earners (ranked 83rd in New South Wales and 263rd in Australia, 0.2% of New South Wales's 2,558,415 and less than 0.1% of Australia's 7,831,856)

- was a total income of $161,074,853 (around $161 million) (ranked 85th in New South Wales and 268th in Australia, 0.2% of New South Wales's $107,179,688,262 (around $107 billion) and less than 0.1% of Australia's $304,034,755,876 (around $304 billion))

- was an estimated average

Average

In mathematics, an average, or central tendency of a data set is a measure of the "middle" value of the data set. Average is one form of central tendency. Not all central tendencies should be considered definitions of average....

income per wage and salary earner of $33,790 (ranked 86th in New South Wales and 288th in Australia, 82% of New South Wales's $41,407 and 87% of Australia's $38,820)

- was an estimated median

Median

In probability theory and statistics, a median is described as the numerical value separating the higher half of a sample, a population, or a probability distribution, from the lower half. The median of a finite list of numbers can be found by arranging all the observations from lowest value to...

income per wage and salary earner of $32,010 (ranked 77th in New South Wales and 257th in Australia, 90% of New South Wales's $35,479 and 94% of Australia's $34,149).