02 February 2023 , 11:02
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Australia's new five dollar note will not feature a portrait of King Charles III after the death of Queen Elizabeth II, the country's central bank has announced.
The banknote's new design will pay tribute to the "culture and history" of Indigenous Australians on one side, while the other side will continue to feature the Australian Parliament.
The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) said the decision was made following consultation with the Government.
As the new $5 banknote will need to be designed and printed before being circulated, the current note with a portrait of the late Queen Elizabeth II will continue to be used in the meantime - and will still be valid when the new note comes out.
Charles with Queen Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace in 2018 (POOL/AFP via Getty Images)The central bank said it will consult with First Australians - a national Indigenous-led organisation that supports entrepreneurs - in designing the new $5 bill.
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The RBA said in a statement: "This decision by the Reserve Bank Board follows consultation with the Australian government, which supports this change.
"The Bank will consult with First Australians in designing the $5 banknote. The new banknote will take a number of years to be designed and printed.
"In the meantime, the current $5 banknote will continue to be issued. It will be able to be used even after the new banknote is issued."
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.
Opposition leader Peter Dutton likened the move to changing the date of the national day, Australia Day.
"I know the silent majority don't agree with a lot of the woke nonsense that goes on but we've got to hear more from those people online," he told 2GB Radio.
Dutton said Prime Minister Anthony Albanese was central to the decision for the king not to appear on the note, urging him to "own up to it".
Currently, it is not known when the new five dollar note design will be announced.
According to the BBC, the RBA is not currently planning to change the design of any other denomination of Australian banknotes.
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The decision to snub the King's portrait from the banknotes has been described by Senator Lidia Thorpe as "a massive win for the grassroots, First Nations people" who have been fighting to "decolonise" Australia.
She tweeted: "This is a massive win for the grassroots, First Nations people who have been fighting to decolonise this country. First Nations people never ceded our Sovereignty to any King or Queen, ever. Time for a Treaty Republic!"
First Nations people lived in Australia for at least 65,000 years before British colonisation, it is estimated
The British monarch remains Australia's head of state, but nowadays the role is largely symbolic.
Australia is one of the former British colonies currently debating to what extent it should retain its constitutional ties to Britain.
When the Queen died, the government had already committed to holding a referendum this year to acknowledge Indigenous people in the constitution.
The government has dismissed adding a republic question to that referendum as an unwanted distraction from its Indigenous priority.
At one time, Queen Elizabeth II appeared on at least 33 different currencies, more than any other monarch, an achievement noted by Guinness World Records.