You go to Melbourne. At least that’s what the City of Melbourne (the local government authority) and Qantas would want you to do, according to a hilarious meme that made its way through social media recently.
If you’re unfamiliar with the restrictive lock-out laws in place in Sydney, let’s run through them quickly.
- Thou shall not allow entry to venues that serve alcohol past 1 am; and
- Thou shall not serve alcohol at any bar past 3am.
That’s Sydney. But these laws don’t apply down in Melbourne, and this gives Australia’s second city a chance to exploit Sydney’s restrictive alcohol laws to its advantage.
Case in point: this funny meme that made its way across twitter recently that appeals to the drinker in you.
I have always been a steadfast and vocal Sydney evangelist and this breaks my heart. (v/ @matt_levinson) pic.twitter.com/64PUn14EYF
— Paul Mackay (@plmcky) February 10, 2016
But get this.
Melbourne wasn’t always so liberal. In actual fact, Melbourne was actually one of the first cities in the country to adopt the controversial lock out laws, but they proved so unpopular that they didn’t remain in place for long – the Victorian Government soon dropped them.
Advantage: Melbourne.
So why are they still in place in Sydney?
Some Sydney-siders think there really is no need for them at all:
Sorry… If you’ve been out in Sydney in last 2yrs nobody is actually out to cause any trouble #lockoutlaws #qanda — Matt Renwick (@mattynofb) February 1, 2016
To make the case even stronger for Melbourne, there’s been talk about making its public transport system 24-hours.
Game. Set. Match?
So the rivalry between Melbourne and Sydney continues, and this time it’s centred on a good old Aussie tradition: the freedom to have a drink with your mates when you want to.