The Reserve Bank of Australia said it would consult with indigenous people on a new design that “honors the culture and history of early Australians.”
He said the new notes will take “several years” to design and manufacture, and that the existing $5 bills will remain in circulation in the meantime.
The decision was celebrated by the country’s republican movement, which recalled that the indigenous population was in Australian territory 65,000 years before the arrival of British settlers.
“The idea that a king whose personal wealth and privileges rest on (…) the massacre of the original peoples should appear in our currency, instead of the descendants of the victims, is no longer justifiable in a moment of truth (and) reconciliation,” said Craig Foster, head of the Australian Republican Movement.
The central bank said the change is also supported by the Labor government of Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.
