THERE’S only one thing the residents of Port Stephens hate more than potholes, and that’s panic buyers according to the numerous community based social media pages this past week.

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In a return to form that has seen a case of breaking wind in Melbourne requiring a change of undergarments in Port Stephens, local supermarkets are again running short on toilet paper and other essential household items.

After the initial panic of the COVID-19 pandemic saw regional shelves hammered for dung tickets the nation sighed collectively as stocks were replenished and rational thought resumed.

But, with the latest spike in Victoria of CoronaVirus cases the panic buyers are back and they’ve flushed their cognitive reasoning with their last meal.

Former NOTA scribe and Medowie resident Julie McKimm couldn’t believe her eyes when she went to do the regular family shop at Woolworths Medowie last Thursday.

“I was surprised to see when doing my fortnightly shop that there was limited toilet paper yet again,” said Ms McKimm.
“I would have expected that in Victoria but not in Medowie!”

In separate statements Woolworths are reintroducing a two packet limit per shopper whilst Coles will go further and restrict customers to just one pack of toilet roll across the nation.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison has also weighed into the panic buying debate telling punters to curb their behaviour.
“Stop it, it’s ridiculous,” he said.

“I’m sure it will pass as it did last time, there’s no need for it.”

All Port Stephens supermarkets were experiencing shortages over the weekend as residents are urged to think of others during this period, especially with school holidays approaching.

If you run out of paper don’t panic, use leaves, they’re organic.

By Mitch LEES