There’s no human right to Vegemite, court tells Australian prisoner who wanted ban overturned

Prohibition of salty, yeast-based condiment in Victoria’s prisons remains after convicted murderer claimed it denied him right to ‘enjoy his culture’

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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 sued Victoria’s corrections department after he was refused the salty, yeast-based condiment in prison.

McKechnie claimed the refusal denied him his human right to “enjoy his culture” as an Australian.

“Without being able to consume Vegemite, I feel deprived of being able to practise my Australian culture, sad and disconnected from my family and community,” he told the state’s supreme court.

Vegemite was banned in Victorian prisons in 2006, due to concerns it interfered with narcotic detection dogs, according to Corrections Victoria’s list of contraband items.

Its yeast properties also gave it the potential to be used to brew alcohol.

Prison authorities and the commissioner did not accept there was a right under the Corrections Act or human rights charter to consume Vegemite while in prison.

The court on Monday dismissed McKechnie’s case, finding no infringement of his right to be provided with “food that is adequate to maintain the health and wellbeing of the prisoner”.

Vegemite might be regarded as part of an Australian culture and the human rights charter might extend to certain foods, Justice Claire Harris said.

But its prohibition in Victorian prisons was a proportionate measure by authorities, she said.

“It is demonstrably justified by the reasons identified by the (state), which are directly related to the discharge of prison authorities’ statutory obligations, including those relating to the management, security and good order of the prison and the safe custody and welfare of the prisoners,” she said.

“The specific refusal to permit Mr McKechnie to have access to Vegemite … is reasonable and demonstrably justified.”

McKechnie was found guilty and sentenced to life in prison for the stabbing murder of property developer Otto Kuhne in Queensland more than 30 years ago.

He was transferred to a Victorian prison 10 years into his sentence.

Queensland, South Australia and Tasmania also have a ban on the Australian yeast spread, but New South Wales allows it in its correctional centres.

Vegemite was first developed in Melbourne in 1923 as an alternative to the UK’s Marmite.

It has become a breakfast staple for many Australians, despite its polarising taste.

Bega bought the brand from US-based Kraft in 2013.