Prisoner challenges Vegemite ban, arguing it breaches his cultural rights
Andre McKechnie, 54, a life-sentenced inmate, has launched a legal challenge against Victoria's justice department and Corrections Victoria after being denied access to Vegemite in prison. In documents filed in the Supreme Court of Victoria, McKechnie says the long-standing ban on the yeast-based spread interferes with his human right to "enjoy his culture as an Australian."
Vegemite has been prohibited across all 12 Victorian prisons since 2006. Authorities say the spread was misused by inmates to coat drug parcels to mask their scent from sniffer dogs and that its yeast content has been used to ferment makeshift alcohol, commonly referred to as prison "hooch." Prison officials cite security and safety concerns for maintaining the ban.
In his statement of claim, McKechnie alleges the ban breaches the Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities Act and the Corrections Act. He seeks a declaration that the defendants violated his rights under the Charter — which guarantees that people with particular cultural, religious, racial or linguistic backgrounds may "enjoy their culture" — and that Corrections Victoria failed to provide food adequate to maintain his wellbeing as required by the Corrections Act.
"I was refused a request to no longer be prohibited from consuming Vegemite," the filing says.
Public and political reaction has been critical. David Southwick, the shadow corrections minister, told the Herald Sun that prisons should not be treated as "hotels" and accused some offenders of pursuing trivial claims in court. "Victorians who work hard and do the right thing are fed up with seeing violent offenders use the courts for trivial complaints," he said, urging the government to manage prisons responsibly.
Victims' advocates have described the case as insensitive. John Herron, a victims-of-crime advocate whose daughter was murdered in 2019, called the claim frivolous and hurtful to families. Herron said the suit felt like an "extra perk" for perpetrators that compounded victims' pain; his daughter's killer was found not guilty of murder by reason of mental impairment.
McKechnie is held at maximum-security Port Phillip Prison. He was 23 when he stabbed Otto Kuhne, a Gold Coast property developer, to death in 1994. McKechnie received a life sentence and was transferred from the Queensland prison system to Victoria about a decade later. The legal challenge is now before the Supreme Court of Victoria.
