A Supreme Court judge dismissed an appeal by Andre McKechnie to overturn a prohibition on prisoners eating Vegemite in Victoria, Australia. McKechnie, who is 54, is serving a life sentence after he stabbed a property developer to death in Queensland during the 1990s.
The convicted murderer sued the Department of Justice and Corrections in Victoria to challenge the rules. Authorities in the state of Victoria argue that inmates might use the pungent paste to brew alcohol or conceal illegal substances behind bars.
McKechnie argued that he should be allowed to "enjoy his culture as an Australian." Victoria has enforced this specific ban since 2006, while the product is also prohibited in jails across Queensland, South Australia, and Tasmania.
Invented in Melbourne over a century ago, Vegemite first appeared on Australian shop shelves in 1923. In a separate incident in April 2025, an Australian cafe owner in Canada was instructed to remove jars of the spread.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese described the situation as "rather odd" and called it "rubbish."
