New $5 Note Celebrates Indigenous 'Connection to Country

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Australia's $5 note is getting a complete redesign replacing Queen Elizabeth II with Indigenous themes after three decades of royal representation.

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The "Connection to Country" theme was chosen from over 2,100 public submissions following extensive consultation with First Nations organizations.

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For the first time in Australian currency history, the note will not feature a portrait of any person, though Parliament House will remain on the reverse side.

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RBA Assistant Governor Michelle McPhee described the design as celebrating Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples' relationship with the land, waters, and sky.

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Artists are asked to consider the 1992 overturning of terra nullius—the legal doctrine that treated Australia as unoccupied before European settlement.

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Opposition Leader Peter Dutton previously criticized the move as "another attack on our systems, on our society and on our institutions."

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Professor Tony Dreis welcomed the change, saying "Tens of thousands of years of connection to Country is worth far more than dollars alone."

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The $5 note redesign continues a tradition of Indigenous representation on Australian currency that dates back to the 19th century.

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The full process of designing, finalizing, and circulating the new $5 note is expected to take several years with artist submissions closing in April.

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