King Charles’ chances of succeeding his mother on Australia’s notes are diminishing after Treasurer Jim Chalmers said it should be uncontroversial for the nation to remove the monarch from its currency.
Chalmers on Wednesday said a change in the $5 note, which has featured an image of Queen Elizabeth for three decades, was worthy of public discussion over the next 18 months.
A mock-up of what a $5 note featuring King Charles III could look like.Credit:Matt Davidson
The Queen first featured on an Australian note in 1953 when her image appeared on the then one pound note. With the move to decimal currency in 1966, her image moved to the one dollar note.
Between the end of the one dollar note and the first printing of the $5 polymer note, from 1984 to 1992, the Queen did not have a presence on the nation’s notes. She has since featured on the $5 note of which there are 200 million in circulation.
Notes are produced by an arm of the Reserve Bank of Australia.
Chalmers said he had spoken to RBA governor Philip Lowe this week about a possible change to the $5 note.
“When it comes to the $5 note, my personal view is that it shouldn’t be beyond us to consider and to consult on the best way to change the $5 note when that’s necessary,” he said.
“I don’t see a massive rush to change the $5 note but nor do I think it should be especially controversial for a country like ours to consider, consult on what we want to do with the $5 note going forward.”
Overnight, the Bank of England revealed it would release by year’s end the images of King Charles that will appear on its £5, £10, £20 and £50 notes.
It said the new notes were likely to enter circulation in mid-2024 and will only be printed to replace worn notes, with those featuring Queen Elizabeth removed from circulation once they have become worn or damaged.
Chalmers said the longer timeline suggested by the Bank of England was in line with his own thinking of a possible change.
“That seems to me to be an especially comfortable timeframe with which to come to,” he said.
If the RBA was to replace the Queen’s image with King Charles, it would need to receive an officially-sanctioned portrait of the new monarch. It has already said it could take years before King Charles appears on the $5 note.
Shadow treasurer Angus Taylor said he wanted the next $5 note to have the King’s image.
“I’ve got to say my personal bias is that we should maintain that tradition,” he said on Wednesday.
While the King may not appear on a future $5 note, the government is also looking at plans to remove him as head of state later this decade.
Assistant Minister for the Republic, Matt Thistlewaite, on Wednesday said he hoped the government would have a successful referendum for a republic in its second term in office.
He left open the door to first have a plebiscite to avoid the debate over the republic model that affected the 1999 republic referendum.
“We know that in 1999, it was the model that brought us unstuck. There was general public support for a republic, but the model was the downfall and divided Australians, we want to avoid that again,” he said.
“So, a plebiscite is an option. A constitutional convention is an option. These are all on the table. And I’m consulting Australians with their views.”
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