The nearby suburb of Montmorency has reportedly followed the lead of New South Wales by telling its residents to actively avoid interacting with Melburnians. After NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian said yesterday, “I call on all organisations not to interact with citizens from Melbourne at this stage”, anonymous Monty powerbrokers followed suit, moving swiftly to strengthen their borders by erecting crossed arm emoji banners bearing Berejiklian’s likeness at all entrances to the suburb, and crudely scrawling “Stay Out Of Monty!” on multiple placards.

Despite technically being Melbournians themselves, Montmorency residents have long seen themselves as separate to Australia’s second largest city. Two years ago that stance led to a strong push to be considered as an independent state, while many residents are often overheard referring to Montmorency as a “town” instead of a suburb.

But the latest attempt to distance themselves from Melbourne has been met with widespread approval from Monty residents. One such resident contacted The Watsonia Bugle and said, “Of course we should be avoiding contact with Melburnians. To be honest, this new edict won’t be too hard to follow. I already try avoiding you lot most of the time anyway. Montmorency is a separate entity to the rest of Melbourne. Don’t let our close geographic proximity fool you.”

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