James Morrow: Ditching King Charles on Australian $5 note is republic by stealth

While polls show support for both a republic and Indigenous Voice languishing, we will be stuck with a currency that fails to honour Australia’s sovereign, writes James Morrow.

It is hard to say what is worse: The Reserve Bank’s attacks on the literal foundations of Australian homeowners with its bait-and-switch interest rate policies, or its attacks on the virtual foundations of Australia with its redesign of the $5 note.

Because make no mistake – Thursday’s declaration by the Bank that the next printing of the note will not feature an image of the King but rather a “First Nations” themed design is part of a stealth push by the government to ditch the monarchy in favour of a republic.

But even more than that it is a part of the broader push by progressives to unhitch modern Australia from its British heritage.

While the Reserve Bank is of course technically independent there can be no doubt that Governor Philip Lowe and his board have read the writing on the wall in making this call.

The optics of it are perfectly aligned with the entire progressive Labor vibe that signals in ways great and small that post-settlement Australia is on some fundamental level tainted, and that our British heritage is fusty and dated at best and sinfully colonial at worst.

Britain's King Charles III and Britain's Camilla, Queen Consort at the funeral of his mother Queen Elizabeth II last September. Picture: AFP

This attitude was on full display earlier this week when Penny Wong, speaking in the UK, told her British hosts to do more to reckon with their colonial past.

Where, of course, both the Bank and Labor are making a big mistake in thinking that there is a large push among the population for such a realignment — symbolic or otherwise.

According to one recently reported poll, support for a republic, which is pushed as the ultimate “cutting of the apron strings”, has increased since the death of Queen Elizabeth II … from 36 to 39 per cent.

Likewise, polls show that the very vibe-ey Voice to Parliament is also languishing, as what seemed like a nice idea to push reconciliation along become mired in a lack of detail.

As it becomes clear that it is part of a trifecta which will include further racial separatism (treaty) and “truth telling” (a sort of struggle session for national identity), expect those numbers to drop further.

In the meantime, we will be stuck with a currency that fails to honour Australia’s sovereign.

On the bright side, if the Bank keeps upping interest rates we won’t have much opportunity to spend it anyway.