NRL families, officials land in Brisbane despite interstate ban

A plane with more than 100 NRL players’ wives, girlfriends and children, and league officials, has jetted into Brisbane from Covid-ravaged Sydney, despite a government ban on interstate arrivals.

A chartered plane of NRL players’ families and officials has jetted into Brisbane this afternoon and will go straight into two weeks of hotel quarantine, despite a government ban on arrivals.

The Palaszczuk Government has relaxed its two week ban on hotel quarantine to allow the families and officials into the state.

The NRL confirmed the plane landed just a few minutes ago saying the charter flight contained 100 players’ wives, girlfriends, kids and officials.

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk last week declared a two-week pause on arrivals from interstate. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Dan Peled

The move will anger many people marooned in NSW, Victoria, and the ACT who cannot get back to Queensland after the government last week put a pause on hotel quarantine arrivals for two weeks.

Some of those stranded include several Federal cabinet ministers and MPs who can’t get back into the state.

An NRL spokesman confirmed the charter flight landed this afternoon.

The arrivals, from Sydney, which is a declared hot spot, are outside of the quarantine cap and will do 14 days in hotel quarantine in Brisbane.

After being contacted for comment earlier today, the Premier’s office has not responded, but earlier today Annastacia Palaszczuk defended allowing sports players to enter Queensland when the state has locked out its own citizens due to a lack of hotel quarantine rooms.

Asked about a decision to allow Australian and Indian cricketers to quarantine in Queensland ahead of women’s series, the Premier said the players were operating outside the hotel quarantine program and therefore weren’t taking up the precious rooms.

“It’s outside the cap so it’s not to do with the cap which is used for domestic (travellers),” she said.

Ms Palaszczuk said she realised people were upset by the decision to suspend arrivals “but we’re trying our hardest”.

“This is an issue about trying to keep Queenslanders safe so we’ll do everything to do that.”

She denied that sporting players were being treated as more important than ordinary citizens.

“I didn’t grant the exemptions, the Chief Health Officer granted the exemptions,” she said.

“What I say to Queenslanders that are in other parts of the nation and want to come home, we are doing everything we can to look at alternative accommodations to make sure that you can come home safely.

“We’re looking very closely at what’s happening in South Australia with their trial (of home quarantine) as well so we are looking at a whole range of options to make it easier for families and Queenslanders to come back home safely.”

She said she hoped to update people on how they could return home very shortly.