A Melbourne Journo Got Slammed For Snubbing Sydney’s Lockdown Misfortune

An opinion article in The Age has fed a civil war online, by pitting Sydney-siders and Melbournians against each other during lockdown.

In a piece titled ‘The good, the bad and Sydney’s COVID outbreak’, journalist Jon Faine wrote about the voice in his head that feels a bit of schadenfreude over Sydney’s lockdown, calling the city “smug and self-important” and saying it’ll “prick their self-righteous balloon”.

part of me feels good sydney’s going into lockdown since they taunted me when I was locked down in Melbourne and also cheered when my wife left me

— Chris Somerville (@chrisomerville) June 27, 2021

It’s interesting how most in NSW hoped for the best for Vic while Many from Vic seem to be cheering for an outbreak in Sydney

— Mad Max (@maxhealey5) June 27, 2021

He grapples with the angel and devil on his shoulder processing what’s going on with Melbourne’s neighbours north of the border, after a two week stay-at-home order in Greater Sydney was announced on Saturday.

Faine expands to discuss leadership between the rival states, calling for an “end to the partisan, condescending and patronising nonsense that has been raining down on Victorians for months”.

Many men (Melbourne journalists)
Wish death (Covid outbreaks)
Upon me (Sydney)

– 50 Cent

— Osman Faruqi (@oz_f) June 27, 2021

Indeed#lockdownSydney pic.twitter.com/qAmmB4joBd

— Kitt E ❁ (@Hugs5Dollars) June 27, 2021

Sydney has been championed for its ability to avoid a full lockdown since last year, bar a stay home order for the Northern Beaches last December. It’s a win mainly attributed to the state’s efficient contact tracing system. Melbourne, on the other hand, recently came out of its fourth lockdown.

Seeing a lot of Sydney people on social media talking about covid and the lockdown like the first time it’s really affected them and in Melbourne we’ve been doing it on and off for 12 months

— Ross (@Rossk1007) June 26, 2021

OPINION: While nobody in Melbourne wants Sydney to suffer a lockdoen, I didn't get invited to many parties in highschool and drag the resentment like a curtain behind me through the dusty rooms of my life

— Jack Vening (@jack_vening) June 27, 2021

“It proves for once and for all that the virus doesn’t care which political party is in power and rams home that COVID transmission is as much about luck as it is about any other single factor,” he wrote. “It will do Sydney some good to be knocked off their high perch.”

He takes issue with the way Liberal NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian is praised by the public, media, and Federal Government, for her handling of the pandemic, versus her Labor Victorian counterpart Dan Andrews — dubbing their treatments as hypocritical and biased.

Throughout this pandemic we have been through this together, but the Media (especially that based in Sydney) and NSW Government have put down the rest of the country to support their own ego’s.

— John Polizzi (@ThePolizz) June 27, 2021

The difference in media reactions between the Melbourne and Sydney lockdown is nuts.

— Mia (@seriesofblursx) June 26, 2021

“Too many people regard COVID as a Melbourne thing; now they have to accept it is more than that,” said Faine. “Scott Morrison will finally be forced to fast-track mass vaccination with the urgency it requires and stop dawdling on getting the nation inoculated.”

He ends on a commonality that both ‘Good’ Jon and ‘Bad’ Jon can agree on: “I’m so sick of COVID but we just have to stick together, follow the advice and get through somehow.”

Reminding everyone that these Sydney vs Melbourne fights are distracting us from the true enemy: Queensland. We need to join forces against them before it’s too late.

— Sami Shah (@samishah) June 27, 2021

Going to be forced to mute the words Sydney and Melbourne

— Bec Shaw (@Brocklesnitch) June 27, 2021