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Rates of car ownership in Australia are among the highest in the world. Private cars have shaped the urban form of Australian cities and the daily routines of their residents, making it possible to fulfil geographically stretched responsibilities for work, family, and social lives. But the dominance of the private car in Australian lives and landscapes should not be confused with universality. Aggregate, population-wide statistics of car ownership and use mask the fact that not all Australians are equally car dependent. In this paper, we report on the results of a household sustainability survey conducted in metropolitan Sydney and Wollongong. Overseasborn persons, migrants, and (some) ethnic minority groups were found to own fewer cars -and to use them less -than their Anglo-Australian and Australian-born counterparts. These differences were not attributable to socio-economic or demographic factors. Our findings, which point towards the existence of diverse cultures of transport within the Australian population, are significant for transport planning and policymaking. Given profound concerns about the environmental implications of car use, the environmentally (more) sustainable transport behaviours of ethnic minorities and migrants should be supported. A shift in research focus away from the most car-dependent groups in Australian society may also be more widely instructive. The transport practices, experiences, and strategies of those who own and drive cars at below-average rates may indeed contribute practical lessons to inform planning for more environmentally sustainable transport futures. Aggregate, population-wide statistics of car ownership and use mask the fact that not all Australians are equally car-dependent. In this paper, we report on the results of a household sustainability survey conducted in metropolitan Sydney and Wollongong. Overseas-born persons, migrants and (some) ethnic minority groups were found to own fewer cars -and to use them less -than their Anglo-Australian and Australian-born counterparts. These differences were not attributable to socio-economic or demographic factors. Our findings, which point towards the existence of diverse cultures of transport within the Australian population, are significant for transport planning and policymaking. Given profound concerns about the environmental implications of car use, the environmentally (more) sustainable transport behaviours of ethnic minorities and migrants should be supported. A shift in research focus away from the most car-dependent groups in Australian society may also be more widely instructive. The transport practices, experiences and strategies of those who own and drive cars at below-average rates may indeed contribute practical lessons to inform planning for more environmentally sustainable transport futures.

Inter-ethnic couples are a growing population with unique and understudied residential geographies. Using customised 2006 Census data for the Greater Sydney region, we investigate the prevalence and geographic distribution of a socially significant subset of cohabiting inter-ethnic couples: ethnic majority-minority couples. These couples are comprised of an Anglo/European or ('white') Australian partner and a partner from a 'visible' ethnic minority group. We find that ethnic majority-minority couples are most concentrated in inner-city areas of moderate ethnic diversity and high socio-economic status; and are more residentially dispersed than their respective ethnic minority groups. Inter-ethnic partnership appears to alter the residential geographies of ethnic minority groups. By shifting the scale of analysis from the individual to the household, our findings complicate established understandings of the ethnic geographies of Australian cities. INTER-ETHNIC PARTNERSHIPS: REMAKING URBAN ETHNIC DIVERSITY ABSTRACTInter-ethnic couples are a growing population with unique and understudied residential geographies. Using customised 2006 Census data for the Greater Sydney region, we investigate the prevalence and geographic distribution of a socially significant subset of co-habiting inter-ethnic couples: ethnic majority-minority couples. These couples are comprised of an Anglo/European or ('white') Australian partner and a partner from a 'visible' ethnic minority group. We find that ethnic majority-minority couples are most concentrated in inner city areas of moderate ethnic diversity and high socio-economic status; and are more residentially dispersed than their respective ethnic minority groups. Inter-ethnic partnership appears to alter the residential geographies of ethnic minority groups. By shifting the scale of analysis from the individual to the household, our findings complicate established understandings of the ethnic geographies of Australian cities.

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Aims The ARC‐HF and CAMTAF trials randomized patients with persistent atrial fibrillation (AF) and heart failure (HF) to early routine catheter ablation (ER‐CA) versus pharmacological rate control (RC). After trial completion, delayed selective catheter ablation (DS‐CA) was performed where clinically indicated in the RC group. We hypothesized that ER‐CA would result in a lower risk of cardiovascular hospitalization and death versus DS‐CA in this population. Methods and results Overall, 102 patients were randomized (age 60 ± 11 years, left ventricular ejection fraction [LVEF] 31 ± 11%): 52 to ER‐CA and 50 to RC. After 12 months, patients undergoing ER‐CA had improved self‐reported symptom scores, lower New York Heart Association class (i.e. better functional capacity), and higher LVEF compared to patients receiving RC alone. During a median follow‐up of 7.8 (interquartile range 3.9–9.9) years, 27 (54%) patients in the RC group underwent DS‐CA and 34 (33.3%) patients died, including 17 (32.7%) randomized to ER‐CA and 17 (34.0%) randomized to RC. Compared with DS‐CA, a strategy of ER‐CA exhibited similar risk of all‐cause mortality (adjusted hazard ratio [aHR] 0.89, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.44–1.77, p = 0.731) and combined all‐cause mortality or cardiovascular hospitalization (aHR 0.80, 95% CI 0.43–1.47, p = 0.467). However, analyses according to treatment received suggested an association between CA and improved outcomes versus RC (all‐cause mortality: aHR 0.43, 95% CI 0.20–0.91, p = 0.028; all‐cause mortality/cardiovascular hospitalization: aHR 0.48, 95% CI 0.24–0.94, p = 0.031). Conclusions In patients with persistent AF and HF, ER‐CA produces similar long‐term outcomes to a DS‐CA strategy. The association between CA as a treatment received and improved outcomes means there is still a lack of clarity regarding the role of early CA in selected patients. Randomized trials are needed to clarify this question.