Annastacia Palaszczuk touched down in Tokyo early on Monday morning.She is being joined by a federal government representative and Brisbane lord mayor Adrian Schrinner, who took to social media to confirm the convoy’s arrival and shared a photo of Mt Fuji.It comes as more than 130,000 have signed an online petition opposing Ms Palaszczuk’s decision to travel to Japan.Organisers had been attempting to deny the Queensland premier an exception to leave the country.“Annastacia Palaszczuk has successfully advocated for a brutal and heartless halving of Australian quarantine spaces, making it even more difficult for stranded Australians to return home,” the Change.org page states.“Annastacia Palaszczuk recently stated her intent to take a space up in hotel quarantine on her return from the Tokyo Olympics.“Annastacia Palaszczuk should not be allowed to steal a precious hotel quarantine space from a more deserving stranded Australian trying to return home.“Deny her the ability to do so.”The premier has defended her decision to fly to Tokyo, where she will make her final pitch to the International Olympic Committee for Brisbane to be named the 2032 Games’ host.“It has been made very clear by John Coates (Australian Olympic Committee president) that it would be a disaster if the head of Queensland did not go to make the pitch … and to come back and spend 14 days in hotel quarantine,” she said earlier this month.Ms Palaszczuk has also said she would not have travelled to Japan if there had been an outbreak of Covid‐19, similar to what was occurring in Sydney.“I am essentially flying in, doing the requirements of quarantine in Tokyo, I am presenting in Tokyo with the Lord Mayor (Adrian Schrinner) and also the federal minister,” she said.“Then we have meetings in that same hotel – I am not attending any events whatsoever.”Federal home affairs minister Karen Andrews said the Olympics would have a huge economic benefit for southeast Queensland and the rest of Australia.However, Ms Andrews also had a dig at Ms Palaszczuk over her apparent double standard when it came to hotel quarantine.“That’s a matter now for her to respond to,” she told ABC News Breakfast on Monday.“But many Australians are unimpressed with the hypocrisy.”
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