A Victorian prisoner serving life for murder has filed a lawsuit challenging the state's prohibition on Vegemite, asserting that withholding the divisive yeast spread violates his human right to "enjoy his culture as an Australian," Associated Press reported.
Andre McKechnie, aged 54, brought his fight for the salty brown brewing byproduct to Victoria's Supreme Court, according to court registry documents provided to Associated Press on Tuesday. His legal action targets both Victoria's Department of Justice and Community Safety and the prison management agency Corrections Victoria, with trial proceedings set for next year.
The lawsuit seeks a judicial declaration that defendants denied McKechnie's charter-protected right to "enjoy his culture as an Australian" under the Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities Act, Associated Press noted. McKechnie additionally seeks recognition that defendants violated the Corrections Act through "failing to provide food adequate to maintain" his "well-being," the court documents state. His legal petition requests that the court mandate that the Vegemite prohibition decision be "remade in accordance with the law."
Since 2006, Victorian corrections facilities have maintained a Vegemite ban, with Corrections Victoria explaining it "interferes with narcotic detection dogs," according to Associated Press. Prison officials implemented the prohibition after discovering inmates would coat illicit drug packages with Vegemite, hoping the pungent smell would divert canine attention from contraband substances. The spread's yeast content also triggered its ban from Victorian facilities due to its "potential to be used in the production of alcohol," as stated in the contraband list.
Crime victim advocate and attorney John Herron characterized the lawsuit as frivolous and insulting to victims' families, Associated Press reported. "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," Herron stated, whose daughter Courtney Herron died after a 2019 beating in a Melbourne park, with her killer receiving a not guilty verdict due to mental impairment, according to Associated Press. "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," Herron added, Associated Press noted.
Port Phillip Prison, a maximum-security facility, currently houses McKechnie, who was 23 when he fatally stabbed wealthy Gold Coast property developer Otto Kuhne in Queensland in 1994, according to Associated Press. A life sentence for murder was imposed on McKechnie, who transferred a decade later from Queensland's to Victoria's prison system, Associated Press reported. His writing from last year revealed eight years of freedom on Victorian parole before he "decided that I had had enough," subsequently returning to prison where he has remained for the past decade, according to Associated Press.
