Court Rules Prisoners Keep Losing Out on Vegemite

The legal battle over prison food in Victoria ended Monday when a Supreme Court judge ruled that inmates must continue without Vegemite. The decision leaves a long-standing ban on the salty yeast spread intact for all Victorian prisoners.

The ban has been in effect since 2006. Andre McKechnie, 54, challenged the rule as it applied to his case. He argued that the restriction prevented him from enjoying his culture as an Australian. The judge dismissed that claim, stating that cultural rights are limited primarily by the fact that a person has been sentenced to a term of imprisonment.

McKechnie filed the case against the Victorian Department of Justice and Corrections. He contended that the ban breached legislation requiring prisons to provide food that supports an inmate’s health and well-being. The court found that he had not proven this breach occurred.

McKechnie is serving a life sentence for the fatal stabbing of a property developer in Queensland during the 1990s. He spent part of his sentence in Queensland before being transferred to Victoria. Corrections Victoria officials argued that the strong smell of the paste allows inmates to hide contraband substances or brew alcohol. They also noted that the odor can interfere with sniffer dogs used to detect drugs entering prisons.

The ban is not unique to Victoria. Queensland, South Australia, and Tasmania also prohibit the spread in their jails. Vegemite was invented in Melbourne in 1923 as a local alternative to Marmite. It remains a contentious item in Australian households and public life.

The spread recently made international news in April of this year. An Australian cafe owner in Canada was ordered to remove jars from his shelves because the product did not meet local health regulations. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese intervened in the dispute, calling it odd that Canada sold Marmite, which he called a rubbish rival to Vegemite. The cafe owner was eventually allowed to continue selling the spread.