A design honoring Australia’s Indigenous people will replace a photograph of the British monarch on the upcoming Australian $5 ($3.50) note. Australia’s central bank, the Reserve Bank of Australia, stated the design reflecting “the culture and history of the First Australians” will be designed in conjunction with the Indigenous people and would likely take a few years. Also, the Australian Parliament building will remain on the back of the note. The bank said Thursday that the image of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II would be replaced with the new design.
The decision to exclude King Charles III from the note means the king will no longer feature on any Australian paper money. After consulting with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s administration, the central bank decided to implement the modification. According to the company’s treasurer Jim Chalmers, the shift represents a chance to find a happy medium. “The monarch will still remain on the coins, but the five-dollar note will tell more about our history, heritage, and nation, and I consider that as a good thing,” he told reporters in Melbourne. Despite the fact that the head of state in Australia is a primarily ceremonial position held by a British monarch, the death of Queen Elizabeth in September 2017 reignited the discussion of whether or not Australia should become a republic. Numerous banknotes have included Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander themes and imagery.
David Unaipon, a Ngarrindjeri man from South Australia, is featured on the current fifty dollar ($35) note. Unaipon is an author, activist, inventor, musician, and preacher. The administration of Albanese is organizing a historic referendum to give Indigenous people a “voice” in parliament. If passed, this measure will make permanent the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Advisory Council, which provides counsel to the government. This year is when the referendum will likely take place.
