He urged Australians not to panic buy, because it would take some time for costs to trickle down to bowsers. ''What we saw at the start of the conflict with people (panic) buying fuel was rare and unnecessary," Mr Khoury told AAP. Treasurer Jim Chalmers has written to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission asking for increased scrutiny of fuel prices to ensure they weren't being artificially inflated. Mr Khoury said it was the job of the regulator to independently track fuel prices and impost penalties. Some truck drivers had reported downing tools in anticipation of diesel costs rising because their customers could not afford to pay higher prices.