Passionate petitioners Vincent Wu and Kirby Miles are on a mission to replace the late Queen Elizabeth II with Australian conservationist and “crocodile hunter” Steve Irwin on the $5 note.
Wu and Miles, like many other Australians, would much prefer Irwin to Queen Elizabeth’s more obvious replacement, King Charles III. Together, the petitioners have collected 42 signatures for their cause so far on the Australian Parliament House website.
Assistant Treasury Minister Andrew Leigh‘s recent statement on the matter gave petitioners hope.
Although he already confirmed that the king will feature on Australian coins “as a matter of tradition,” it sounds like the $5 note might actually be a different story.
“The decision to include the Queen’s face on the $5 note was about her personally rather than about her status as the monarch so that transition [to Charles on the note] isn’t automatic,” he explained.
Irwin, the beloved Aussie wildlife expert himself, tragically passed away in September 2006 after a stingray attacked him in the Great Barrier Reef. He was filming a new documentary at the time.
“The death of Queen Elizabeth II and the proclamation of King Charles III raises an important question about the future of Australian currency,” Miles began the petition reasoning. “We propose keeping all existing $5 notes featuring Queen Elizabeth II in circulation and introducing a new $5 honouring Australian zookeeper Steve Irwin.”
Wu emphasized, “Steve is beloved by all and has become synonymous with the Australian values we hold so dearly.” He added, “He epitomised the spirit of mateship; he deeply loved the Australian wildlife, working hard towards conservation and education but perhaps most importantly he’s just a good bloke.”
Wu also noted that there is no one “more vital to Australian culture” than Irwin.
The petitions will close at 12:59 a.m. on October 27.
