A convict serving a life term for a homicide offense is contesting a prohibition on Vegemite, alleging that the ban infringes on his human rights.
Andre McKechnie, aged 54, has been incarcerated since 1994 for the murder of Otto Kuhne, a prosperous property developer in Gold Coast, Australia, whom he fatally stabbed in Queensland. McKechnie has been confined at the high-security Port Phillip Prison in Truganina, Victoria, for over three decades.
Being detained in Victoria, McKechnie has been devoid of Vegemite, a yeast-based spread prohibited in all 12 prisons in the state. He has initiated legal action asserting his human right to “embrace his heritage as an Australian” has been violated.
As per documents disclosed to The Associated Press, McKechnie is suing the Department of Justice and Community Safety in Victoria and Corrections Victoria, the prison management agency. He is set to plead for access in court next year, marking 30 years since Vegemite was outlawed in 2006.
He aims to secure a court declaration that the prison system has deprived him of his entitlement under the Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities Act to “honor his heritage as an Australian.”
His argument focuses on a section of the act ensuring “all individuals with a specific cultural, religious, racial, or linguistic background” the right to “celebrate their culture, practice their religion, and use their language.” The inmate also seeks a declaration that the prison failed to “provide sufficient food” to meet his requirements, thereby violating the Corrections Act.
Vegemite was proscribed in the early 2000s by Corrections Victoria after it was discovered that the substance “interfered with narcotic detection dogs.”
Prisoners previously coated packages of illegal substances with Vegemite in hopes of diverting the dogs from detecting the contraband. While the Department of Justice and Community Safety and Corrections Victoria declined to comment on the matter, relatives of crime victims have expressed strong opposition to McKechnie’s petition.
John Herron, a legal practitioner and advocate for crime victims, whose daughter Courtney Herron was fatally assaulted in a Melbourne park in 2019, stated that it reinforces the notion that victims “lack rights,” denoting spreads of any kind as an “additional privilege.”
He remarked, “As victims, we lack rights. We receive minimal, if any, support. The focus is always on the offender, and this case highlights that fact.” He further added, “It’s not about Vegemite or Nutella or any other spread. It’s an added privilege that intensifies the tragedy we’ve endured.”