Australia removes British monarchs from banknotes

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Australian five dollar bills

Photo: Mark Baker / dpa

The five dollar bill is the most widely used banknote in the Australian monetary system.

The portrait of Queen Elizabeth II has been on it for decades. This should soon be over.

After the death of the monarch, her successor Charles III.

will not appear on banknotes, the central bank said on Thursday.

Instead, an indigenous motif should be shown on the five-dollar banknote in the future.

The other side of the bill will continue to show the Australian Parliament.

The central bank said the decision had been agreed with the government.

At the same time, she admitted that the conversion and printing of the new banknotes would take a few years.

First of all, indigenous representatives should be consulted on what the design could look like.

With the introduction of the new five-dollar note, a British monarch will no longer appear on any Australian banknotes - although on some coins it will.

The portrait of David Uniapon, indigenous activist, author and musician, is already on the $50 bill.

New debate on secession from the Commonwealth

The head of state of Australia is still the respective British monarch.

However, the country has been discussing a possible separation from the royal family for some time.

The death of Elizabeth II in September last year also triggered public mourning in Australia.

At the same time, however, indigenous groups protested against the royal family, accusing the monarchy of being partly responsible for colonial crimes.

The death of the monarch has sparked debate over whereabouts in different parts of the Commonwealth - including in Australia.

In 1999, a 55 percent majority of Australians voted to retain the monarchy in a referendum.

The current Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese, is seen as a long-standing advocate of his country's independence and the formation of a republic.

A referendum on this issue would be possible.

On November 30, 2021, the island state of Barbados in the Caribbean became a republic, and criticism of the royal family is also growing in other countries in the region.

jok/AFP