Well, that was predictable, as predictable as the sun rising the next morning, though not as welcome.
With the late Queen having passed on, there is now a vacancy on the last bit of paper banknote currency to feature the monarchy and the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) is ‘seeking ideas from the Australian community’ to ‘re-imagine’ the $5 banknote.
Not just any old ideas, however, the only permitted themes for the new currency design will be those that ‘reflect our nation’s unique and rich First Nations cultures and history’. To pass Woke muster, everything in Australia has taken on a similar theme to fit in with the narratives surrounding colonialism, occupation, genocide or whatever phrase the random Woke word generator throws up. The other side of the $5 banknote will continue to feature the Australian Parliament. A kind of a back-door Voice, perhaps.
‘First Nations organisations’ have a first-class ticket on the consultation train but the rest of Australia will only get a look in providing they limit themselves to an Indigenous theme for the redesigned banknote. Indigenous Australians will be on the RBA’s ‘expert panel’ to adjudicate the winning design, of course.
This corralling of choice to an Indigenous-themed $5 note is a variation of Henry Ford’s ‘you can have any colour you like’ quip, so don’t even think about celebrating or honouring any Australian scientist or dinky-di. Do not bother considering sportsmen such as Bradman, Roy Cazaly (from ‘Up there Cazaly’ fame) or any other non-Indigenous Australian from any field that has helped to make Australia a modern, developed Western Civilisation exemplar.
King Charles didn’t make the shortlist to replace his mother, marking the end of the monarchy’s century-long paper currency reign. The RBA had earlier, in October last year, offered the government a choice of displaying a portrait of the new King on the banknote or ditching anything Royal and going the First Nations route. It is no surprise which way the Albanese government, melding its Woke credentials with its republican heart, has chosen. The responsible minister, Treasurer Jim Chalmers, told the RBA he would be ‘comfortable’ with a design that ‘honours the culture and history of First Australians’.
Peter Dutton has previously ‘slammed’ the change in banknote design direction as ‘Woke nonsense’, yet another ‘attack on our systems, our society, our institutions’. Cash-users will be reminded of their Woke duties every time they pay for a coffee. To me it feels a bit like re-education by stealth for all those who voted against the Voice to Parliament.
