The portrait of the British monarch that was previously on Australia’s new five-dollar ($3.50) note will be replaced with a design honoring the country’s Indigenous people.
The design showcasing “the culture and history of the First Australians” will be developed in consultation with the Indigenous people, according to the Reserve Bank of Australia, the country’s central bank, and was expected to take a few years.
The Australian Parliament will continue to appear on the other side of the banknote, it added
“This new design will replace the portrait of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II,” the bank said in a statement on its website on Thursday, February 2.
As a result of the decision to omit his successor King Charles III from the note, the monarch will no longer be shown on any of Australia’s paper money.
According to the central bank, the update came about as a result of talks with the government of Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, which was in favor of the modification.
Jim Chalmers, the treasurer, claimed that the change offered a chance to achieve a good balance.
“The monarch will still be on the coins, but the five-dollar note will say more about our history and our heritage and our country, and I see that as a good thing,” he told reporters.
The head of state of Australia is the British monarch, who serves in a mostly ceremonial role. However, after Queen Elizabeth died in September of last year, there has been renewed discussion on whether the country should become a republic.
Australians voted in a referendum in 1999 to maintain the British monarch as the nation’s head of state.
Australia officially modified its national anthem in 2021 to remove the phrase “young and free” in response to calls to acknowledge that its Indigenous people are the world’s oldest civilization.
