The face of Queen Elizabeth II, who died last September, will no longer appear on the $5 banknotes in Australia, the Central Bank announced this Thursday (2). In its place, the note will receive a tribute to the national indigenous history.
The decision was announced after a consultation with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, elected less than a year ago. On the other side of the note, the seat of the Parliament of the country of Oceania will continue to be stamped.
Elizabeth’s death has accelerated the debate over the country’s future as a parliamentary monarchy and part of the Commonwealth. In a referendum in 1999, the population rejected changing the system of government to a republic, so the Queen followed the Australian head of state.
Upon the Queen’s death, her son, now King Charles III, took over. Australian officials have previously said his figure would not automatically replace his mother’s on banknotes.
The central bank’s decision comes at a time when the center-left Labor Party, which is now in power, is pressing for a referendum to recognize indigenous peoples in the constitution, so that they must be consulted on any decisions that affect their lives.
The Central Bank, for example, stated that it will consult indigenous groups about the image to be placed on the banknote and that it will take a few years for the new design to be ready.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, although a longtime supporter of the republican model, said after the queen’s death that it was not the right time to address any political change in the country.
And the announcement by the Central Bank, as expected, caused disagreement between different parties. Peter Dutton, leader of the opposition Liberal Party, said the decision was politically motivated. “There’s no doubt about it: it’s a decision at the behest of the government and I think the prime minister should own up to that.”
Parliamentarian Lidia Thorpe, from the Green Party and of indigenous descent, celebrated. “This is a great victory for members of the indigenous peoples who are fighting to decolonize this country.”
Craig Foster, leader of the Republican Movement of Australia, a non-partisan organization, echoed Thorpe’s words. “The idea that a queen whose personal wealth and privileges are the result of the massacre of indigenous peoples should appear on the national currency is not justifiable in a moment of truth and reconciliation.”
In 2021, Australia officially amended its national anthem to remove reference to the country as being “young and free”, amid claims of recognition that Indigenous peoples had been there long before settlers arrived.
Today Australia has about 798,400 indigenous people —3.3% of the population—, according to data from the national statistics agency. They are divided between the aboriginal peoples, who live in mainland Australia, and the peoples of the Torres Strait Islands, an archipelago that forms part of the state of Queensland, in the northeast of the country.
The 5 Australian dollar note (R$ 17.7) is the only one that carries the image of Elizabeth II. The coins, on the other hand, carry the image of the British monarch – the new ones already have the face of King Charles 3rd, head of state of Australia and of more than ten Commonwealth countries, although this is a largely ceremonial position.
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