Thousands of Australians have signed a Change.org petition demanding that Member of Parliament Annastacia Palaszczuk be denied an exemption to travel abroad in order to attend the Tokyo Olympics later this month while normal Aussies are indefinitely banned from travelling abroad and thousands remain stranded in foreign countries.
Palaszczuk lobbied the federal government to slash inbound arrival caps by half last week due to the perceived risk posed by the Delta variant escaping from hotel quarantine. There are currently no exemptions for fully vaccinated travellers and Australians trying to get home on compassionate grounds have had their flights cancelled because of the new caps.
The Queensland Premier, however, will be granted an exemption to travel abroad later this month in order to attend VIP gatherings at the Tokyo Olympics. Palaszczuk says her presence in Japan is absolutely essential because she will be working to convince International Olympic Committee members to award Brisbane the Summer Olympic Games in 2032.
Palaszczuk previously stoked controversy over her trip as she allegedly forewent the AstraZeneca Coronavirus vaccine for the Pfizer jab because she wanted to be fully vaccinated in time for her trip.
By Monday evening, nearly 20,000 people had signed the petition calling on the Australian Border Force to revoke Palaszczuk’s travel exemption.
“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 petition says.
“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,” the petition continues.
Palaszczuk lobbied for a weekly passenger cap to be halved from 6,070 to just 3,035 claiming that Queensland’s hotel quarantine system was already full and could no longer cope.
There are an estimated 35,000 stranded Australians still waiting to get home but travel industry groups say some airlines might be forced to suspend their services to Australia altogether because there is no chance of them breaking even with so few passengers allowed on each flight.
Meanwhile, some stranded Australians say they are completely priced out of getting home because ticket prices have soared since the new arrival cap was announced. Palaszczuk’s trip to Tokyo is understood to be covered by the taxpayer.
It’s amazing how many lawmakers around the world seem happy to impose draconian restrictions on others, while at the same time fashioning exemptions for their own purposes. The G7 was an excellent example, but there are so many other more minor ones, including this.
Rules for thee, but not for me.