Australian prisoner loses court battle over Vegemite prison ban

Summarised from 2 outlets · Updated 26 Oct, 08:31 · Archive

An Australian prisoner has failed to overturn a ban on Vegemite in Victoria's prisons, with a court finding no breach of his cultural rights.

Andre McKechnie, a convicted murderer serving a life sentence in Victoria, has lost a court challenge against the state's ban on Vegemite in prisons. He claimed the prohibition breached his human right to practise Australian culture, saying without it he felt 'deprived' and 'disconnected from my family and community'. A Victorian Supreme Court judge rejected the appeal on Monday.

Victoria's corrections department banned Vegemite from prisons in 2006, citing concerns that its yeast properties could interfere with narcotic detection dogs used in drug searches and that it could potentially be used to manufacture alcohol. McKechnie also argued the ban breached laws requiring prisons to provide adequate food to maintain inmates' health and wellbeing. The court found no infringement of this right. Justice Claire Harris acknowledged that Vegemite might be regarded as part of Australian culture but ruled the prison authorities' prohibition was proportionate. She noted that cultural rights are limited by the fact of imprisonment itself.

Vegemite is also banned in jails in Queensland, South Australia and Tasmania. Metro reports that Marmite, the British equivalent which is more runny than Vegemite, is not subject to a blanket ban in UK prisons, though individual facilities can restrict items.

How it is being reported

• Aussie prison inmate loses bid to be allowed Vegemite in jailVegemite has been banned from prisons in Victoria for 20 years (Picture: AP) A convicted murderer has lost his appeal to bring Vegemite back to Australian prisons, two decades after it was banned. The yeast-based paste has become a national symbol since its invention in 1923 as a response to WWI…Metro · 26 Oct, 08:16
• There’s no human right to Vegemite, court tells Australian prisoner who wanted ban overturnedProhibition of salty, yeast-based condiment in Victoria’s prisons remains after convicted murderer claimed it denied him right to ‘enjoy his culture’ A murderer who claimed a refusal to allow him Vegemite in prison is a breach of his human rights as an Australian has failed to overturn the ban on the polarising spread. Andre McKechnie had sued Victoria’s corrections department after he was refused the salty, yeast-based condiment in prison. Continue reading...Guardian World · 26 Oct, 02:34

In this story: Andre McKechnie · Victoria · Corrections Victoria · Justice Claire Harris

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