The British Central Bank announced on Thursday that images of British monarchs will be removed from banknotes in Australia, with charges on the five-dollar bill that honor indigenous culture. Any British monarch.
But the central bank has not released any details about the image of the late Queen Elizabeth II that appears on some coins in circulation.
Australia is a member of the Commonwealth of Nations and its official head of state is King Charles III, represented by a Governor General. After the death of Elizabeth II, she declared a national day of mourning on 8 September.
But some indigenous groups denounce the devastating effects of British colonialism and call for the abolition of the monarchy. In 1999, the Republicans were narrowly defeated in a referendum on this issue.
The central bank said its decision was backed by the center-left Labor government led by Anthony Albanese, which favors a possible transition to an Australian republic.
The Reserve Bank of Australia confirmed that Indigenous peoples will be consulted on a new design that “honors the culture and history of the early Australians”, explaining that the design and printing of the new banknote will take “years”.
Until that happens, banknotes bearing the image of the late Queen in circulation will remain legal.
The Australian republican movement praised the decision to remove images of kings, noting that indigenous peoples predate British colonialism by 65,000 years.
