Annastacia Palaszczuk will be joined by Brisbane lord mayor Adrian Schrinner and federal Sports and Aged Care Minister Richard Colbeck to present the now-completed bid to the International Olympic Committee after Brisbane wasgiven preferred candidate status in February. A limited number of staff are expected to travel with each delegate.
The petition,calling for Ms Palaszczuk alone to be denied an exemption to leave the country and return via a “precious” quarantine room,was launched shortly after she reiterated on the ABC’sQ&A on Thursday her intention to stick to the regular hotel scheme.
Almost 40,000 people had signed the petition by late Tuesday but by Wednesday evening the number exceeded 70,000.
Data from social media tool CrowdTangle shows a number of hotel quarantine Facebook groups were among those behind the 900 shares of the page. The largest portion of total interactions – almost 1500 – was driven by a post from Queensland Nationals MP George Christensen.
Criticism was initially sparked last week after Queensland Deputy Premier Steven Miles blasted the federal government over repeat travellers,particularly those who were unvaccinated,effectively skipping around Australia’s closed international borders for business meetings.
While saying she supported vulnerable people returning home,Ms Palaszczuk also said the cap on international arrivals should at least be halved and that a discussion needed to be had about ensuring travellers were vaccinated before entering.