Australia Won’t Put King Charles on Its 5-Dollar Bill

Surveys suggest that fewer Australians favor the status quo regarding the monarchy than in the past. In one recent poll, 31 percent said they were in favor of retaining the monarchy, down from 54 percent in the last official referendum on the issue, which was held in 1999. (Australia became fully independent from Britain in 1942.)

The Australian Republic Movement applauded the new design and the recognition of Indigenous history. The head of the organization, Craig Foster, a former captain of the Australian soccer team added: “Australia believes in meritocracy, so the idea that someone should be on our currency by birthright is irreconcilable, as is the notion that they should be our head of state by birthright.”

Dixon Patten, an Indigenous Australian designer and artist based in Melbourne, said the new bill would hopefully precipitate more conversations about the values of modern Australia.

Ideally, he said, he would like to see images of native flora and fauna, or scenes of “country,” an Indigenous phrase referring to Australian lands and waterways, on the note.

“Everyone, when they come to this beautiful country, is a contemporary custodian of the land,” he added.

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/02/02/world/australia/australia-king-charles-5-dollar-bill.html