Court rejects McKechnie’s challenge to prison Vegemite ban

The Victorian Supreme Court has rejected Andre McKechnie’s challenge to a ban on Vegemite in prison, ruling that he had not established grounds for judicial review and that prison health obligations do not require the provision of culturally significant foods. McKechnie, 54, is serving a life sentence for the 1994 murder of property developer Otto Kuhne in Queensland. He argued that prohibiting the yeast-based spread denied him the ability to practise his Australian culture. In evidence to the court, he said Vegemite was integral to that culture and that being unable to eat it left him feeling sad and disconnected from his family and community. Justice Claire Harris acknowledged that Vegemite may be regarded as part of Australian culture, but found that McKechnie’s cultural rights were limited by his imprisonment. She concluded that he had not shown the prohibition breached the Corrections Act, which requires prisons to provide food to maintain inmates’ health and wellbeing. The law does not oblige prisons to provide foods of cultural significance to enhance wellbeing, the judgment said. Corrections Victoria defended the restriction on security grounds. Its representative told...