Ms Palaszczuk, who last week received her second dose of the Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine in preparation for her trip later this month, has come under fire for revealing she would quarantine in a hotel after returning from Tokyo despite repeatedly calling for a reduction in hotel quarantine caps. The change.org petition “Deny Annastacia Palaszczuk an exemption to leave Australia to attend the Tokyo Olympics” has attracted more than 6600 signatures since it was created after Ms Palaszczuk’s appearance last week on Q& A, where she confirmed she would quarantine in a hotel after her trip.“The reason that I would be going to Tokyo is to help secure the 2032 Olympics for Brisbane, Queensland, Australia,” she said on the program.“ … And upon return, I would do the 14-day quarantine in a hotel, not in my home, not at The Lodge.”Started by a group of stranded Australians, the thousands of signees are asking the Australian Border Force to “deny her the ability” to travel and “steal a precious quarantine space”.“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 petition said. “Queensland Deputy Premier Steven Miles recently stated: ‘Every month, about 40,000 Australian citizens and about 6000 permanent visa holders are allowed to leave the country. Many of them seek to return … re-joining the queue, going back through hotel quarantine, putting our community at risk …’“The people of Australia believe the Queensland Government should lead by example. We hereby petition for Annastacia Palaszczuk to be DENIED the right to leave Australia at this time until she increases hotel quarantine capacity to such an extent that she will not take up a space that could have gone to a stranded Australian. “Annastacia Palaszczuk should not be allowed to steal a precious hotel quarantine space from a more deserving stranded Australian trying to return home.”Signees have said it is “unfair” for politicians to be able to travel freely while denying ordinary Australians the “basic human right”. “This is un-Australian,” one said. “Our premiers should lead by example, not get exemptions,” another wrote.“She’s a hypocrite,” an anonymous signee wrote.Ms Palaszczuk said the meeting in Tokyo was “very important” and the International Olympic Committee expected her, Brisbane Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner and a federal government representative to be in the city. “It’s worth about $14bn and I would hope, by 2032, we would be back to a normal society of freedom … it would create over 100,000 jobs,” she said. Ms Palaszczuk was instrumental in Australia’s hotel quarantine places being reduced by 50 per cent after numerous leaks in the system caused simultaneous outbreaks across the country.
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