New bank notes deemed massive fail; news.com.au readers not impressed

THE first look at the new “youthful” bank notes, created by the Reserve Bank of Australia, has been deemed a “massive fail” by some news.com.au readers.

More than 100 people took to news.com.au’s Facebook page to comment on the designs, suggesting the faces on the notes were outdated and should instead include Slim Dusty, Steve Irwin, Peter Brock and even former prime minister John Howard.

As reported earlier today, the RBA has been working on creating new bank notes for the past five years.

The project, called Next Generation Bank Note, is more than two years behind schedule and has so far cost $9.3 million.

Designers were supplied with new portraits of the notes’ subjects and asked to capture Australian characteristics with “youthful” and “energetic design qualities”, it says.

“Youthful and energetic, with pictures of the elderly on the front, I don’t think so,” posted Rebecca Larson.

While Tiffany Noy described it as a “massive fail”, asking “What about some people that someone in the last 40 years would remember?”

Many did not know Mary Gilmore, who is on the $10 note, confirming research by the RBA that most Australians were unable to name the famous historical faces on our national notes.

“I’m an Australian and who is Mary Gilmore?” wrote Linda Ward. “Hmmmm, must google more often.”

“The lady on the front of the $10 note looks like Cate Blanchett,” replied Michelle Curd.

Gilmore – who will feature on the future $10 note – was one of Australia’s most popular poets in the early 20th century.

And, as Kate Ryan said on Facebook: “Some of these comments just prove that that 9 million should have been spent on education, not fixing something that ain’t broke.”