Panic buying of petrol is just making the issue worse

As I queued behind a line of cars at my local petrol station last week, a familiar feeling came over me: dread.

This wasn’t just any kind of dread. It was one reminiscent of the pandemic toilet paper shortage – when desperate Aussies bought ludicrous amounts of toilet paper as if they were preparing their underground bunker for an impending, diarrhoea-causing apocalypse (albeit one that never arrived), leading supermarkets to limit purchases to prevent hoarding.

While 2026 seems safe on the toilet paper front, with the war in the Middle East seemingly amping up, fuel supplies squeezed, prices soaring, and the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) now investigating price gouging, many Australians are filling up their tanks ‘just in case.’

And look, I’m empathetic to this. I too lined up at my local budget petrol station last week, along with another fifty or so cars, to attempt to save a few dollars and ensure I had enough petrol to get around. But at the same time, amid the sheer number of vehicles lining up, I also witnessed a few other actions that not only seem excessive but actively made the situation worse for everyone else: petrol stockpiling, aka hoarding.

Yes, because if toilet paper hoarding wasn’t bad enough, now it seems Australians are investing in jerry cans – or pulling them out of storage – and filling them alongside their petrol tanks to ensure they’re prepared for a fuel shortage, to save a few dollars, or perhaps for both.

As I sat in my car, patiently waiting for my turn to fill up, I saw multiple people bring out jerry cans to fill with petrol after they’d finished filling up their tanks. In fact, I even saw one person unload five, while another went inside the petrol station and bought one in-store to fill up after witnessing others doing it. This man even commented to the staff member who served him, “I thought I’d better get in before it’s all gone.”

While I’d like to give the benefit of the doubt and assume these people are from farms or other businesses that genuinely need petrol for machinery or equipment, given that most were behind the wheel of very family-looking SUVs or sedans – with drivers and passengers wearing white-collar work uniforms – I’m inclined to think that isn't the case.

Of course, it’s not just the petrol hoarding; the panic is also being exacerbated by the media, with fear-mongering articles and headlines fuelling the fire.

“‘Panic’: Aus in meltdown as petrol hit $3/L,” one headline read.

“Seven-day deadline in Aussie supply crisis,” was another.

One of my local radio stations posted on social media asking followers to reply with where the cheapest petrol in the area was and received copious – very telling – responses.

“In my car,” replied one.

Others responded detailing the actions they’ve taken to help combat the issue.

“Put a fuel app on your mobile. It will tell you,” one person commented.

And this is a strategy many Aussies are seemingly using, with reports that petrol price-checking apps like Petrol Spy have seen a surge in users over the past week.

While many Australians are worried about fuel prices and stock – and are panic-buying as a result – Federal Energy Minister Chris Bowen stood up in parliament earlier this week to urge Australians to remain calm, insisting the country does not have a fuel shortage. Despite this, it seems the message is falling on deaf ears, only worsening the situation.

 “The biggest risk to availability in Australia right now is panic buying,” Bowen said.

To prove his claim, Bowen cited a “massive spike” in demand, leading to a 238 per cent increase in fuel prices in the Adelaide Hills and Barossa, and a 100 per cent rise in Mildura, Victoria.

While not everyone agrees with Bowen’s comments – with some experts refuting his stance and the ACCC investigating allegations of price gouging – the reality is that filling ten jerry cans to stash in your garage ‘just in case’ is not helping anyone else. Nor is it likely to be required, meaning it probably won’t help you either.

So please, before rushing to your local petrol station and unnecessarily filling up, take a moment to reflect on the pandemic and remember that stockpiling and panic buying are rarely, if ever, necessary. More often than not, they make the problem worse.

Let common sense take over, and chances are you’ll have enough petrol to do your weekly grocery run and pick up your loo rolls at the same time.

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