Maude Nificent<p><a href="https://aus.social/tags/NotMyKing" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>NotMyKing</span></a> <a href="https://aus.social/tags/Auspol" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Auspol</span></a></p><p>Edit - thought i had a link to article, but did not. Here is the text;</p><p>‘The King is King of Australia’: Backlash over $5 note</p><p>Removing the monarch’s portrait from the $5 note has sparked outrage among royalists who say the federal government is stealthily trying to make Australia a republic.<br>The Reserve Bank of Australia has revealed the refreshed $5 note will feature the theme “Connection to Country” to reflect Aboriginal culture and history.<br>The central bank announced in 2023 that the $5 note would not feature King Charles III following Queen Elizabeth II’s death.</p><p>After more than 2100 submissions, the RBA’s senior representatives alongside Aboriginal stakeholders decided on the “Connection to Country” theme for the $5 redesign.<br>It will be the first time the banknote does not have a portrait but it will still keep an image of the Australian parliament on one side.<br>The decision to omit King Charles has sparked outrage among monarchists.<br>“The King is still King of Australia until the people decide otherwise and a government should not start removing images of the King,” Australian Monarchist League chair Philip Benwell told AAP.<br>“The government is pre-empting everything to try and force a republic by stealth on people and that is wrong.”<br>Mr Benwell accused Prime Minister Anthony Albanese of seeking another referendum on becoming a republic if re-elected in the upcoming federal election.<br>Australia held a failed referendum in 1999 to ask whether the people agreed to change the constitution to become a republic with 54 per cent of people voting against it.<br>Mr Benwell accused the federal government of lacking concern for the wishes of the people.<br>He referenced the 1999 republic referendum and the 2023 Voice referendum when Australia voted no to recognising Aboriginal Australians in the constitution.<br>“We are established under the Crown, the King wears the crown, the King is King of Australia and the government shouldn’t forget that and shouldn’t push the King aside,” he said.<br>Mr Benwell added monarchists did not have an issue with Aboriginal artwork being featured on the banknote but called for it to retain the King’s image.</p><p>credit — Michael West Media</p>