Peter Dutton (pictured) has said the government will come after possible crime syndicates who have been clearing supermarket shelves amid the coronavirus pandemic
Peter Dutton has said the government will come after possible crime syndicates who have been clearing supermarket shelves amid the coronavirus pandemic.
‘We do have some people I think that are profiteering,’ the Home Affairs Minister told 2GB’s Ray Hadley.
‘They’re hoarding, not for their own consumption, I think they’re either sending some of the products overseas or they’re selling it in a black market arrangement in Australia.
‘I’m going to come after those people. It won’t be a pretty experience when we deal with them.
‘We will come down like a ton of bricks on those individuals because I think they’re the ones that have created this pattern of behaviour of hoarding and clearing out shelves.’
Locals in regional Victoria have been left outraged over city residents who have been swarming into town to clear out supermarkets in a panic-buying frenzy.
Coles announced further restrictions on eggs, chilled pasta, frozen vegetables and frozen dessert on Monday. Pictured: Shoppers at a Coles supermarket in Sydney
Locals in regional Victoria have been left outraged over city residents who have been swarming into town to clear out supermarkets in a panic-buying frenzy. Pictured: General view outside a Woolworths in Sunbury as people wait outside on Tuesday
A zero tolerance sign was placed outside Woolworths in Sunbury (pictured) over concerns about staff wellbeing
Residents from Kilmore, Traralgon, Wallan and Ararat have slammed city ‘vultures’ for coming in by the ‘busload’ and emptying grocery store shelves as a potential coronavirus lockdown looms.
Another 23 cases of COVID-19 were recorded in Victoria overnight, taking the state’s total number of positive tests to 94.
The spike in cases comes as state officials declared a state of emergency to deal with the rapid spread of deadly virus that has killed five people in Australia and more than 6,500 worldwide.
Nervous shoppers are believed to be coming in from Melbourne and targeting stores for items that have been sold out in the city amid the panic-buying chaos.
Shelves are bare across multiple Australian supermarkets (pictured, left) as worried families stockpile toilet roll (right)
Locals claim tourist have been coming in on buses, while some have been driving in, from as far as Mornington.
‘It’s happening all around here. It’s in Seymour, Wallan,’ Diane, from Kilmore, 60km north of Melbourne, told 3AW’s Neil Mitchell on Tuesday.
‘Someone came into our bakery yesterday and took every loaf of bread.’
Rhys, from Ararat, in Victoria’s south-west, said he had noticed ‘a lot of different people’ who appeared to be from out of town shopping in the area in recent days.
‘We’ve had a supermarket attendant say he had a busload come in the other day,’ he told the radio station.
The shortage of supplies has sparked concerns for vulnerable residents of small towns such as the elderly or pregnant women, who are no longer able to find goods at their local shops.
‘Buses of people have been coming in the last few days. People are coming from as far as Mornington,’ Melissa Clark, from Woodend, which has a population of about 5,400 people, told the Herald Sun.
‘We just need a break. We love having tourists here in Woodend – but not supermarket tourists.’
Supermarket giants including Coles, Woolworths and Aldi have been forced to implement buying restrictions on certain items as customers have been stockpiling on toilet paper, hand sanitiser and pantry items in fear of a lockdown.
On Tuesday, Coles limited customers to two packs per person of eggs, chilled pasta, frozen vegetables and frozen dessert.
Coles has already imposed limits on mince meat, toilet paper and hand sanitiser after shelves were left bare.
The company also announced they won’t offer refunds on any additional items that were purchased as a result of panic buying.
Chief executive officer Steven Cain said staff were working ‘as hard as possible’ to ensure shelves were sufficiently stocked.
The number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Australia soared to 450, with New South Wales, the country’s worst-hit state, recording 39 new cases on Tuesday with a total of 210.
Tourist panic-shopping appears to be taking hold in NSW as well, with some residents in Mudgee, northwest of Sydney, complaining over the lack of supplies due to city folks travelling in to bulk-buy.
‘People from Sydney [are] packing cars to the brims. Our supermarkets don’t get enough supplies only enough for our population let alone hoarders. It’s really sad and I think it needs to be policed from now,’ one angry resident said on Facebook.
‘Usually city folk hoard wine not milk!’
A Sydney woman took to Facebook to share an image of the line at her local Aldi in Miranda (pictured) before claiming the employee offended people by asking them to remain calm