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The Guardian
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Learned Behaviours by Zeynab Gamieldien review – murder mystery probes privilege and class politics
Interrogating your privilege can be a divisive, somewhat uncomfortable endeavour – but the way it underpins everyday lives makes for great fiction. It's a topic that has been explored via familial relationships in Brit Bennett's The Vanishing Half, through the employer-employee dynamic in Kiley Reid's Such a Fun Age, and in a schoolgirl narrative in Alice Pung's teen novel Laurinda. Australian author Zeynab Gamieldien's second book, Learned Behaviours, also tackles the issue, via a murder mystery: a searing look at how the intersections of race, class and gender can affect the trajectory of a person's life, even when they no longer seem consequential. It follows Zaid, a prospective barrister who has made considerable efforts to shed his past in a diverse outer part of Sydney known to locals as The Area, which he describes as a 'broad collection of western Sydney suburbs with Canterbury-Bankstown at its heart'. He has travelled overseas, lived in London, drives a Mercedes, and works a job that sees him socialise with the wealthier and whiter north shore and eastern suburbs types on weekends. There he 'assume[s] the role of informant' on the quirks of his past life; it's a currency he trades off in his new world. Sign up for the fun stuff with our rundown of must-reads, pop culture and tips for the weekend, every Saturday morning That past comes back to him in the form of Amira, the sister of his high school best friend, Hass, who killed himself after being arrested for the murder of a female friend in their final year of school. Amira has found Hass's diary and asks Zaid to read it, convinced her brother might have been innocent. Her request draws Zaid back in time to confront painful memories, make rattling revelations and square up to his own role in his friend's death. Told between his high-school past and the present, Learned Behaviours isn't a typical murder mystery. Fans of true crime and meticulously plotted crime fiction might find the ending lacks the kind of detail that provides closure; they might even scoff at the possibility that the police bungled the investigation so spectacularly. But this book is not about a clean finish or plausibility (I could never imagine the boys I know from The Area keeping a diary, for example). In it, the intricacies of the murder investigation take a back seat to the bigger themes of belonging, upward social mobility and wrangling a past that weighs heavy on your present – not just in Zaid's case, but in that of his father, Tapey, who is constantly dwelling on the injustices he experienced in District 6 in apartheid South Africa. Gamieldien has done an excellent job of interrogating privilege without being sententious or didactic. It's in the cost of Zaid's barrister training, which he feels more than his moneyed colleagues; it's in the bills piling up in his father's home, and Tapey's reticence to seek compensation for the wrongs done against him; it's in his sister Iman's struggle to leave an abusive relationship in London and return home with a young child in tow. Despite appearances, Zaid knows he has not really 'made it'; he's perpetually on the outer edge of his colleagues' orbit, lacking the fancy school connections that are traded for favours in the workplace, and the weekends away at coastal second homes. Like Gamieldien's debut, The Scope of Permissibility – which explored the push-pull of faith and desire – Learned Behaviours explores social codes and what happens when they are broken. Zaid's inability to swim is a motif, representing how the stark disparity between social classes is experienced on even the most mundane levels. Zaid does his best to rectify it, and the novel is littered with scenes where he plunges himself into bodies of water, hoping for a shift. Sign up to Saved for Later Catch up on the fun stuff with Guardian Australia's culture and lifestyle rundown of pop culture, trends and tips after newsletter promotion Early on in the story, Zaid realises that ''making it' is not synonymous with movement', and that social climbing does not ensure success or belonging. As he ventures back to The Area more frequently – to continue visiting his father, yes, but also to spend more time with Amira – Zaid begins to recognise that getting out of The Area doesn't mean escaping it. Learned Behaviours is a pacy, compelling and immersive narrative that deftly tackles a weighty topic. It's understated but sophisticated, with more than one tragedy at its heart: a murder, yes, but also a necessary reminder that some people can 'afford missteps … requiring only a single step to get back on course', while others need to tread more carefully, or risk being derailed for ever. Learned Behaviours by Zeynab Gamieldien is out through Ultimo Press, $34.99
The Guardian
6 days ago
- Sport
- The Guardian
How a controversial hand gesture divided opinion in the NRL
The NRL showed leniency on Wednesday by letting off Wests Tigers players with a warning after they used a gesture offensive to some Lebanese-Australian communities in Sunday's victory over Canterbury-Bankstown. But the sanction is unlikely to satisfy everyone given the range of responses elicited, from those outraged to others who believe the act was 'just a bit of banter'. Celebrating a second-half try to seal an upset Tigers' win against the high-flying Bulldogs in pouring rain at Parramatta, backrower Samuela Fainu made a hand gesture known as 'the khawd', and his teammates quickly joined in. Almost one in five residents of Bankstown have Lebanese ancestry, and the Bulldogs' fanbase has a strong association with Arab communities in Sydney's west. The club holds an annual Ifthar dinner each year during Ramadan and one of its favourite sons is Lebanon-born former winger Hazem El-Masri. Many Bulldogs fans in the stands on Sunday took offence at the sign made by the raucous Tigers players, some returning with a khawd of their own, while others put their thumbs down or raised their middle finger. But this was not a straightforward Tigers v Bulldogs debate. NRL chief executive Andrew Abdo admitted on Tuesday he had to 'learn up' about the gesture and its sensitivities. Canterbury-Bankstown Mayor Bilal El-Hayek – who will host a charity sleepout with the Bulldogs on Friday – declined to comment. Lebanese-Australian former Tigers hooker Ben Elias expressed firm views in the immediate aftermath. 'It's an ugly sign of hatred and these are the kind of actions that create issues and problems. It should be removed from the game immediately,' Elias told the Daily Telegraph. 'It was obviously aimed at the Lebanese. It means 'go and get fucked'. There's no need for it and there's no place in the game for it. The last thing you want to see is kids who idolise these players start repeating those hands signs and thinking it's cool.' Not all Lebanese-Australians immediately reach the same conclusions when they see the gesture. Jacob Kiraz, the Bulldogs' backline hero and son of Lebanese migrants, has been pictured using the khawd in a friendly manner. Prominent Bulldogs podcast the Kennel sought to provide context amid the storm of attention this week. 'Khawd literally means 'take this' in Arabic. If done to a mate it's the funniest thing, but when done in spite people will literally kill each other over giving each other the khawd,' its host Elmo said. But he believes the incident has been blown out of proportion. 'I don't understand why they've made a complaint. It's nothing, it's just a bit of banter. It's just like giving fans the finger. Move on.' After the Bulldogs expressed their displeasure to the NRL following the game, and due to the attention the controversy has attracted, the governing body was compelled to to act. Sign up to Australia Sport Get a daily roundup of the latest sports news, features and comment from our Australian sports desk after newsletter promotion A formal warning was given to three Tigers players on Wednesday. 'The NRL acknowledges that these actions caused, or had the potential to cause, offence to members of the NRL community,' the league's statement read. The penalty was relatively light, given this week the Penrith Panthers were fined $50,000 and had trainer Corey Bocking suspended for five matches for interfering with Gold Coast kicker Jayden Campbell during a conversion attempt. However, a harsher sanction was handed to Tigers' back Brent Naden. He was one of the players who gave the crowd the khawd on Sunday, but went further than his teammates in sharing a video of him using the gesture after the match, and accompanying it by saying 'fucking dogs'. Naden has been hit with a breach notice and is expected to face a fine. He and the club have five days to respond.
ABC News
30-07-2025
- Business
- ABC News
Simplifying approvals processes could unlock Sydney's street food potential
After leaving their day jobs, Serwan Roman and Andrew Vu thought they could get their cafe on the site of an unused car wash in Sydney's south-west open in a few months. The pair worked casual night shifts as security guards to make ends meet while trying to get their vision off the ground. "We were trying to work around the clock," Mr Roman said. "During the day speak to the council, speak to town planners, speak to architects [to] get drawings happening, and then at night do the graveyard shift." But they ended up in a back-and-forth with Canterbury-Bankstown Council for two years. The council was worried their business did not provide enough parking — despite being next to a public car park — and that they were on a state-owned road that might have lanes added in the future. The pair decided to pivot their business to being a food truck which could be on-site without needing to substantially develop the infrastructure. The pair's business, Roman's Deli, has since amassed a cult following with at least 9,000 followers on their Instagram account. Mr Roman felt the council often took a long time to respond to enquiries and it would have been easier had it been a one-stop shop. "They're always telling you 'you have to speak to the A-team or this B-team or this C-team' rather than 'I'm the one person that has these answers for you'," Mr Roman said. Simplifying the process of getting approvals into a one-stop shop is one of many recommendations put forward by a new report looking into Sydney's growing street food scene. The report from the Sydney think tank Committee for Sydney wants to see councils publish simple step-by-step guides for setting up businesses and the state government review planning controls restricting street food in heritage areas. The report wants street food vendors to be able to operate regularly in areas where there are already approvals for weekly markets. It also calls for a system where mobile food trucks can work across multiple council areas with ease. "If possible, a one-and-done kind of payment system so that food operators can operate across all these different jurisdictions as simply and as easily as possible," said Matt Levinson from the Committee for Sydney. Street food can be a money spinner for local economies, the report said, citing how the Parramatta Lanes 2023 festival is estimated to have injected $1.5 million into the local economy. "Operators are working in every single council area across the city. So even just finding information, let alone going through approvals, paying the costs involved, can be just time consuming." A spokesperson for the NSW Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure said a new policy was being developed to support outdoor dining. "The NSW government's vision for the state's 24-hour economy is to cement NSW as a world-class nightlife destination for visitors, locals and workers alike," a spokesperson said. ABC Radio Sydney understands the Office of Local Government is developing a process to allow councils to recognise each other's approvals for mobile businesses. Blanca Perera recently opened her Mexican food business Olotl into a restaurant in Sydney's inner west. Ms Perera says there was not a clear path for someone wanting to establish a new food business and feels that could be spelled out more clearly by authorities such as local councils. She also said the time spent waiting for responses and approvals from councils was a problem for food operators who work on small margins. She had previously worked as an architect and was very familiar with lengthy development processes. "It's different in architecture because people are ready and prepared for construction and design and all that," Ms Perera said.
News.com.au
09-07-2025
- Entertainment
- News.com.au
NRL WAG praised for calling out mummy vlogger trend
An NRL WAG has said filming her daughters cry 'is the last thing' she would think about and expressed confusion about mums who make it 'their brand'. Tayla Montoya, who is married to Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs player Marcelo Montoya, shared her opinion on mummy vloggers after stating she is repeatedly 'fed' their content. She also shares twin daughters — Tiana and Milan — who are less than a year old with her football star husband. 'Day in the life as a new mum, come with me with my twins blah blah blah,' the radio star said on The Montoyas podcast. 'The videos that I get is where a mum would be like spend the night with me with an eight-week-old newborn. And they will document every time the baby cries and they go to settle and feed the baby.' She couldn't believe that when the baby cries some mother's first thought was 'hold on, let me set up my camera first so everyone can see'. Husband Marcelo said the world has 'lost the plot'. 'That is the last thing I would think about, especially at the newborn stage,' Tayla said. 'When Tiana and Milan weren't sleeping — they were sending me through hell — the last thing I would think is 'girls, f*****g hold that thought, let me set up on a tripod. This sh*t's gold'.' Her husband was confused, asking why people did that for. His wife simply responded that it was 'content'. 'That's their brand,' she said. Many of the couple's fans agreed in the comment section. 'I'm with your hubby! Society has completely lost the plot,' one social media user said. Another said: 'I'm glad I'm not the only one that thinks about this kinda stuff when I see videos like that.' 'My thinking as well,' another social media user commented. One person said; 'Say it louder!' Mummy vloggers and family content channels have become increasingly under scrutiny when it comes to child welfare and content payment — particularly following the imprisonment of Ruby Franke. Franke, who ran the 8 Passengers channel, was arrested in August 2023 alongside her business partner Jodi Hildebrant after her 12-year-old son climbed out of the window of Hildebrant's home and ran to a neighbour's propert y. The boy was malnourished, begging for food and water, had been bound with duct tape and had open wounds. The mother-of-six pleaded guilty to four counts of aggravated child abuse, sentenced to one to 15 years for each count. It prompted conversation about regulating the 'kidfluencer' and 'family vlogging' space. Currently, there are no laws in Australia that specifically govern child influencers. However, three states in the US — including California — have recently passed laws on the matter.
The Guardian
04-06-2025
- Business
- The Guardian
NSW gamblers losing $24m to poker machines every day, analysis shows
The New South Wales government has failed to prevent serious gambling harm with $2.7bn lost to poker machines in the first 90 days of this year, according to a charity group pushing for tougher regulation. Analysis of state government data by Wesley Mission has found the amount of money lost to poker machines during the first quarter of 2025 increased by 5.7% when compared with the same period in 2024. According to the analysis, NSW residents are now losing an average of $1m an hour to poker machines across the state, or more than $24m every day. Poker machines losses were the highest in Sydney's western suburbs. In the Canterbury-Bankstown area, more than $186m was lost to 4,924 poker machines in just 90 days, or an average of more than $2m a day. Sign up for Guardian Australia's breaking news email In just 90 days, more than $766m was lost to poker machines across seven local government areas in western Sydney: Fairfield, Cumberland, Blacktown, Parramatta, Penrith and Campbelltown and Canterbury-Bankstown. Wesley Mission, which sat on the NSW government's expert independent panel on gambling reform, has warned residents in Sydney's west are now losing an average of about $3,200 a year. The charity's chief executive, Stu Cameron, said the state government needed to urgently introduce tougher regulation of poker machines. 'The government has implemented limited reforms, but they clearly aren't having a material impact,' Cameron said. 'The losses continue to be massive, the poker machines keep multiplying and their devastating impact deepens every day. 'If the goal was to reduce gambling harm, then these reforms have failed. What we need now is courage – not more delays.' A spokesperson for the NSW minister for gaming and racing, David Harris, said the government was committed to 'evidence-based gaming reform' that would reduce harm and stop money laundering, while supporting local communities and jobs. 'Our gaming reforms are about changing people's behaviour which takes time,' Harris said. 'The government is reducing the overall number of gaming machines in NSW by reducing the gaming machine entitlement cap by over 3,000 since this Government was elected in 2023. 'Our government has also committed $100m to harm minimisation, introduced more responsible gambling officers, and have slashed cash limits on new machines.' Sign up to Breaking News Australia Get the most important news as it breaks after newsletter promotion Wesley Mission also called on the state government to also introduce mandatory shutdowns of poker machines from midnight to 10am, to introduce a cashless gaming card with enforceable harm reduction limits, and to set tighter caps on the number of machines in high-risk communities. 'These are not radical ideas – they are basic public health protections,' Cameron said. 'If people were being harmed this severely by alcohol, drugs, or unsafe roads, the government would act.' 'Gambling should be no different. Instead, the government does little while the industry rakes in billions.' Wesley Mission's analysis found the number of poker machines operating across the state had slightly increased when compared with the first quarter of 2024. The shadow minister for gaming, Kevin Anderson, said the government had 'promised a big game' on poker machines before the state election, but failed to deliver. 'The delays are just mind boggling and so frustrating for industry,' Anderson said. 'When I talk to pubs and clubs, they want certainty from this government and they are not getting it.' In November last year, the independent panel wrote a 'roadmap' on how to overhaul the state's regulation of poker machines and limit harm. The Minns government is yet to formally respond to the report's recommendations, which were contested by some panel members.
