"Enjoying culture as an Australian Australian prisoner takes legal action against Vegemite ban
An Australian sentenced to life imprisonment is taking his case to court: the ban on Vegemite in Victoria's prisons violates his right to cultural identity, he argues. The authorities point to security risks.
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- An Australian man serving life imprisonment is taking legal action against the Vegemite ban in Victoria's prisons.
- He sees this as a violation of his right to practice his culture as an Australian.
- The authorities justify the ban with security risks, as the spread could facilitate drug and alcohol abuse.
An Australian prisoner is going to court to challenge the ban on the spread Vegemite in prisons in the state of Victoria. The man, who is serving a life sentence for murder, argues that the ban violates his right to "enjoy his culture as an Australian". This was reported by several media outlets.
According to the Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities Act, every person of a particular cultural, religious, ethnic or linguistic background in Australia is entitled to "enjoy their culture, practise their religion and use their language".
According to documents from the Supreme Court of Victoria, the 54-year-old has sued the Victorian Department of Justice and Corrections Victoria. The trial is scheduled for next year.
Banned since 2006
Vegemite has been banned in Victoria's prisons since 2006. Corrections Victoria justifies this by stating that the spread interferes with the work of drug detection dogs. In the past, prisoners had rubbed the dark brown, salty spread on drug packages to cover up the smell. Vegemite also contains yeast and can therefore be used "to produce alcohol", according to the list of prohibited items.
Prisons in the state of Queensland also ban Vegemite - unlike in New South Wales, where the iconic spread is still permitted.
Vegemite has been produced in Australia since 1923 and is considered an integral part of the national identity there, even if it still takes some getting used to for many non-Australians.