Sorry, Charles: Australia replacing British monarchy on banknote with Indigenous design
Global News
The new $5 bill will feature an Indigenous design that honours 'the culture and history of the First Australians,' Australia's Reserve Bank said Thursday.
Australia is removing the British monarchy from its banknotes.
Australia’s central bank announced Thursday that it will not be replacing the image of the late Queen Elizabeth II on its $5 bill with an image of King Charles III.
The new bill will instead feature an Indigenous design that honours the island’s original inhabitants.
“The Reserve Bank has decided to update the $5 banknote to feature a new design that honours the culture and history of the First Australians,” Australia’s bank wrote in a press release. “This new design will replace the portrait of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.”
The reverse side of the bill will continue to feature the Australian Parliament, the bank said.
King Charles is still expected to appear on Australia’s coin — as soon as this year — but the $5 bill was Australia’s only remaining banknote to feature an image of the British monarch.
Treasurer Jim Chalmers said the change was an opportunity to strike a good balance.
“The monarch will still be on the coins, but the $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.