It is a depressingly familiar story: empty supermarket shelves, restrictions on staple goods that aren’t there to buy, unattractive scenes as Australians fight over toilet paper. After six visits to my local supermarkets in two weeks, I know it well.

Workers re-stock shelves at Coles. Credit:Getty

When panic buying began, I resisted. Frankly, I found it obscene. I accepted the assurances of Prime Minister Scott Morrison after the major supermarkets said supply chains were sound. Stock would, we were assured, be replenished quickly.

But as the Prime Minister decries hoarding as “un-Australian”, there is no evidence those undertakings were valid. Stores Australia-wide are stripped. Our supermarkets are failing us when we need them most.

Like wartime armament manufacturers, they reap the rewards of our panic buying. Supermarket company shares, with those for medical and food-related companies, account for almost all the green amid the sea of red on the ASX live feed. If a lockdown is announced supermarkets will undoubtedly remain open.