Queen Elizabeth to be replaced with First Nations design on $5 bill

The Reserve Bank of Australia will consult with Indigenous groups on a design. What do you want to see on it?

A five dollar note with the black and white faces of cathy freeman, David Gulpilil and Pearl Gibbs where Queen Elizabeth would normally be

There are any number of options for a Blak hero to replace the image of the late monarch.

The late Queen Elizabeth II's portrait will be taken off the $5 note and replaced with an Indigenous design.

The Reserve Bank has decided to update the note to feature a new design which "honours the culture and history of the First Australians".

"This new design will replace the portrait of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II," the bank said in a statement on Thursday.

"The other side of the $5 banknote will continue to feature the Australian parliament."

It said the decision followed consultation with the government, which supported the change.

The bank plans to consult with Indigenous groups in designing the $5 banknote and expects it to take a number of years to be designed and printed.
The current $5 banknote will continue to be issued until the new design is introduced and will remain legal tender.

The late Queen Elizabeth featured on the Australian $5 dollar bill for decades, but there were calls for some local royalty to grace the Galah.

There are plenty of options and petitions have already been formally lodged with parliament, but the final decision rests with the Reserve Bank.

While monarchists have called for King Charles III to replace his mother on the Fiver, for most the opportunity to place a Blak hero on the currency is too good to miss.

just days after Queen Elizabeth prompted many calls for the queer icon to be recognised on the pink dollar.

Similarly, many see the wealth of , who danced across stage and screen around the world, as deserving of the honour.

Given the rich history of First Nations achievement in all walks of life, the list of Blak heroes deserving of the honour provides innumerable options.

Cathy Freeman, Aunty Pearl Gibbs, Uncle Archie Roach, Sir Doug Nicholls and Eddie Mabo have all been popular suggestions.

Other names that have been canvassed include June Oscar, Ruby Hunter, Charles Perkins, Mum Shirl, Marcia Langton and Faith Bandler.

'Time to mature'

A poll conducted for the Sydney Morning Herald last year revealed a majority of people would prefer a local icon to the new King, though who exactly remains up for debate.

Senator Lidia Thorpe, in a Twitter post, said it was time for a departure from a UK-centric figurehead.

"We have an opportunity to do things differently in this country," she wrote.

"We can move forwards instead of backwards, by celebrating someone from this country on our $5 note.

"Time to mature as a nation."

Assistant treasury minister Andrew Leigh said it was not a matter of tradition that the reigning monarch feature on the 'Sky Diver', opening the way for a homegrown hero.

“The Queen’s face on the $5 note was about her personally, rather than about her status of a monarch.”

With 200 million $5 dollar notes already in circulation across the country, Queen Elizabeth's head will be poking out of wallets for some time.

But a Blak face could be printed on the pink slip sooner rather than later.

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3 min read
Published 5 November 2022 9:49am
Updated 2 February 2023 10:49am
By Dan Butler
Source: SBS, AAP


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