Cape Town – It's not been a good year for Australians. First, they had to contend with the widespread runaway fires and ensuing smoke pollution.
Now they have their New Zealand neighbours making fun of them over the toilet paper scarcity in Australia after a coronavirus panic-buying frenzy.
Australian shoppers are only permitted to buy a single pack of the prized paper per transaction – both in-store and online – at certain stores.
Other stores, like Woolworths, starting enforcing a four-packs-per-customer restriction last week.
It's desperate times and seemingly no laughing matter for Australians.
This has led to a video that has gone viral on social media of three women in Sydney fighting over toilet paper.
New South Wales police had to be been called to a supermarket after an argument broke out between the women over toilet paper.
The woman in the blue pants in the video just wanted a single pack of toilet paper, the other wanted a trolley's worth.
The three women are heard screaming after one appeared to have taken a packet of toilet paper from the other.
"I just want one pack!" a woman is heard saying to the other woman and her mother.
"No, not one pack," the mother of the woman responds, shielding her trolley, which is full of toilet paper.
A third voice is heard asking "what's the limit?", a reference to the limit on how much toilet paper can be bought in a single transaction.
Bystanders shouted at the trio to stop fighting before the staff at the supermarket stepped in.
New South Wales police said the two women, aged 23 and 60, were issued court attendance notices for affray "following an altercation at a supermarket". They are due to appear at a local court on April 28.
In another incident in Australia, a 50-year-old man was tasered after assaulting a staff member and fellow customer in a dispute over toilet paper.
Making the most of the predicament Australians are finding themselves in Kiwis, whose shelves are well stocked with toilet paper, are posting mocking videos aimed at their trans-Tasman cousins.
Videos posted to TikTok show head-height stacks of toilet paper in New Zealand supermarkets.
In the UK, the coronavirus crisis has also caused unprecedented panic-buying across the country.
It's been reported that there are empty shelves across the UK as worried shoppers bulk-buy toilet roll, pasta, long-life milk and other goods amid growing fears over lockdowns and quarantines.
Supermarkets have begun rationing out items, with social media abuzz with videos of panicked shoppers.
One shopper in Essex told the Sunday Express: "We actually have run out so we’re living on the edge with only four rolls (of toilet paper) to do us until stocks are replenished!"