- Convicted murderer Andre McKechnie has lost a legal challenge in the Victorian Supreme Court to be allowed Vegemite in prison.
- McKechnie, who is serving a life sentence for a 1994 murder, claimed that banning the spread prevented him from “practising his Australian culture”.
- Supreme Court Judge Claire Harris acknowledged Vegemite's place in Australian culture but ruled that prison restrictions lawfully limit an inmate's cultural rights.
- Prison authorities argued the ban is necessary because the pungent smell distracts drug-detection dogs and the spread can be used to brew illicit alcohol.
- The judge also clarified that prison health obligations do not extend to providing foods of cultural significance to enhance inmate wellbeing.
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