Australian murderer loses court bid insisting a prison Vegemite ban denied him the right to 'enjoy his culture as an Australian'
Andre McKechnie, 54, whose case was dismissed on Monday, argued that Victoria's Supreme Court should overturn the ban because going without Vegemite left him "sad and disconnected" from his culture.
Justice Claire Harris, ruling on Monday, held that Andre McKechnie's cultural rights are curtailed 'primarily' by his status as a prisoner. McKechnie, 55, killed a property developer in Queensland in the 1990s and is serving a life sentence. He conducted his own case by video link from Barwon Prison. Vegemite has been banned across all 12 Victorian jails since 2006 because of concerns about sniffer dogs and home brewing.
McKechnie claimed that being denied the spread left him 'sad and disconnected from my family and community'.
The judge found it difficult to accept that the absence of Vegemite, rather than incarceration itself, was the source of his sadness.
McKechnie, who is Jewish, already receives a hot kosher dinner and a weekly kosher food box.
