Australian inmate fights Vegemite ban, says denial violates his culture

A Victorian prisoner has taken the state to court over a long-standing Vegemite ban, arguing that stopping inmates from having the spread violates his cultural rights

A Victorian prisoner is fighting a long-standing ban on Vegemite in the state’s prisons, arguing that denying him the spread breaches his human right to “enjoy his culture as an Australian", Associated Press reported.

 

Andre McKechnie, 54, who is serving a life sentence for murder, has taken his complaint to the Supreme Court of Victoria. Court documents released to The Associated Press on Tuesday show he wants the ban overturned and recognised as unlawful.

 

Although more than 80 per cent of Australian households are believed to keep Vegemite at home, inmates across all 12 prisons in Victoria have not been allowed to consume it since 2006.

 

 

McKechnie has sued Victoria’s Department of Justice and Community Safety and Corrections Victoria. A full trial is expected next year.

 

Vegemite: A national favourite

 

First made in 1923 as an Australian alternative to Marmite, Vegemite has become a household staple. While many Australians love the salty, yeast-based spread, its strong flavour divides outsiders. Barack Obama once famously said, “It’s horrible".

 

Vegemite is best known as a breakfast favourite, especially on toast or in cheese sandwiches.

 

The Australian government even stepped in earlier this year after Canadian officials temporarily stopped a Toronto cafe from selling Vegemite. The decision was later reversed, despite the product not meeting local food regulations, an incident dubbed “Vegemite-gate".

 

Why is Vegemite banned?

 

Corrections Victoria has long argued that Vegemite “interferes with narcotic detection dogs”. Prisoners had previously smeared the spread on drug packages to mask their scent.

 

Vegemite also contains yeast, which is banned in Victorian prisons over fears that it could be used to produce alcohol, according to the contraband list.

 

McKechnie claims the ban breaches the state’s Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities Act, which protects the right of people to “enjoy their culture”. He argues that Vegemite is a key part of Australian culture. He also alleges the Correction Act has been violated by “failing to provide food adequate to maintain” his well-being. He wants the decision to ban Vegemite to be reconsidered “in accordance with the law", the news report said.

 

Victims’ advocates condemn lawsuit

 

Victims of crime advocate and lawyer John Herron criticised McKechnie’s legal battle, calling it frivolous and hurtful to families who have lost loved ones.

 

“As victims, we don’t have any rights. We have limited, if any, support. It’s always about the perpetrator, and this just reinforces that,” said Herron, whose daughter Courtney Herron was killed in Melbourne in 2019.

 

“It’s not a case of Vegemite or Nutella or whatever it may be. It’s an extra perk that is rubbing our faces in the tragedy that we’ve suffered,” he added.

 

McKechnie’s background

 

McKechnie is held at the maximum-security Port Phillip Prison. He was 23 when he stabbed Gold Coast property developer Otto Kuhne to death in 1994.

 

He received a life sentence in Queensland and was later transferred to Victoria. McKechnie spent eight years on parole in Victoria, but wrote last year that he voluntarily returned to prison after deciding the system “had done more damage than good".

 

(With agency inputs)