Hon KRIS FAAFOI: We were aware that in a minority of cases, some retailers or businesses were taking advantage of COVID-19 to inflate the prices they were charging for essential goods. That is why we set up the  email address: to give people a simple and effective tool to report any instances of price gouging. This tool proved highly successful, with over 3,500 emails being received and investigated by officials. In many cases, Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment officials contacted retailers directly, and many of those cases resulted in prices being lowered. When genuine instances of price gouging are identified, referrals will be made to the Commerce Commission to deal with under the Fair Trading Act.