SYDNEY: Australia will replace the portrait of Queen Elizabeth II from its A$5 currency note with a new design to reflect and honour the history of its Indigenous culture, the country’s central bank said on Thursday (Feb 2).
The decision follows consultation with the federal government, which supports the change, the Reserve Bank of Australia said in a statement. The other side of the note will continue to feature the Australian Parliament, it said.
Queen Elizabeth’s death last year has reignited debates in Australia about its future as a constitutional monarchy. Voters narrowly chose to maintain the British monarch as its head of state in a 1999 referendum.
King Charles III, who became British monarch after his mother’s death, is the head of state in Australia, New Zealand and 12 other Commonwealth realms outside the United Kingdom, although the role is largely ceremonial.
Australia in September 2022 said the image of King Charles would not automatically replace Queen Elizabeth on A$5 notes, and that she might be replaced by Australian figures.
Treasurer Jim Chalmers weighed in on the decision, saying the change was an “opportunity to strike a good balance”.
“The monarch will still be on the coins, but the A$5 note will say more about our history and our heritage and our country, and I see that as a good thing,” he told reporters in Melbourne.
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