Not sure if you read the whole thread but the Australian price hikes were way before any shortages. In fact we only started getting shortages this year, not when I posted this thread 14 months ago. The ''a-holes'' in this case are further up the supply chain than regular consumers. Even now we are not having anywhere near as much trouble with shortages as the US is.
I would tend to believe the "shortages" are marketing supply side strategy (gouging) more than anything else, it's amazing now that a lot of prices have increased 300% what is readily available,
( in the U.S.). Primers are still the Achilles Heel, of the component "shortage".
