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Australian Supreme Court Judge Claire Harris on Monday rejected prisoner Andre McKechnie’s human rights challenge to the ban on the spread Vegemite in Australian prisons on the grounds that its ban is “demonstrably justified” by the management, security, and good order of the prison and welfare of the prisoners.
McKechnie filed a “frivolous” suit last year in the Supreme Court of Victoria, alleging that the deprivation of his access to Vegemite while incarcerated infringes upon his right to “enjoy his culture as Australian in community with other persons of Australian background.” His complaint was twofold: that refusal to provide him with Vegemite contravenes the Corrections Act of 1986 and violates his human rights under the Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities Act (the Charter).
Specifically, he claimed that prison officials have breached Section 47(1)(b) of the Corrections Act, which indicates that individuals be provided with food that is adequate to maintain their health and well-being, including the right to enjoy foods of their culture as laid out in Section 19 of the Charter.
Vegemite, a symbol of Australian culture and pride, can be found in nearly 80 percent of Australian households. However, it’s been banned in prisons in Victoria for two decades, largely due to its purported use as an agent to brew alcohol and its pungent smell’s potential to interfere with the ability of narcotics dogs to detect contraband.
McKechnie contested this, claiming that research indicates that Vegemite does not interfere with drug detection dogs any more than other provided foods, such as coffee, and that the spread contains no live yeast and would contribute less to the production of alcohol than any piece of fruit.
Harris found this unconvincing however, indicating in her decision that there was no proper foundation or scientifically proven source for McKechnie’s “opinions,” and that he was unsuccessful in establishing that the decision to ban Vegemite was made in breach of the Corrections Act.
She later conceded that this decision did in fact limit his cultural rights under the Charter, however, that these rights are subject to “reasonable limits as can be demonstrably justified in a free and democratic society.” She then conveyed that the infringement was justified in this situation due to its relatively minor nature and the significant importance to maintain order and security in prisons.
“The fact that a prisoner is in prison, by reason of a sentence or other order for imprisonment, necessarily curtails the prisoner’s right to consume the usual range of food that may be enjoyed by a person at liberty in the community. A prisoner will also necessarily be unable to enjoy the full range of cultural practices and customs that they may have enjoyed in the community,” Harris concluded.
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McKechnie filed a “frivolous” suit last year in the Supreme Court of Victoria, alleging that the deprivation of his access to Vegemite while incarcerated infringes upon his right to “enjoy his culture as Australian in community with other persons of Australian background.” His complaint was twofold: that refusal to provide him with Vegemite contravenes the Corrections Act of 1986 and violates his human rights under the Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities Act (the Charter).
Specifically, he claimed that prison officials have breached Section 47(1)(b) of the Corrections Act, which indicates that individuals be provided with food that is adequate to maintain their health and well-being, including the right to enjoy foods of their culture as laid out in Section 19 of the Charter.
Vegemite, a symbol of Australian culture and pride, can be found in nearly 80 percent of Australian households. However, it’s been banned in prisons in Victoria for two decades, largely due to its purported use as an agent to brew alcohol and its pungent smell’s potential to interfere with the ability of narcotics dogs to detect contraband.
McKechnie contested this, claiming that research indicates that Vegemite does not interfere with drug detection dogs any more than other provided foods, such as coffee, and that the spread contains no live yeast and would contribute less to the production of alcohol than any piece of fruit.
Harris found this unconvincing however, indicating in her decision that there was no proper foundation or scientifically proven source for McKechnie’s “opinions,” and that he was unsuccessful in establishing that the decision to ban Vegemite was made in breach of the Corrections Act.
She later conceded that this decision did in fact limit his cultural rights under the Charter, however, that these rights are subject to “reasonable limits as can be demonstrably justified in a free and democratic society.” She then conveyed that the infringement was justified in this situation due to its relatively minor nature and the significant importance to maintain order and security in prisons.
“The fact that a prisoner is in prison, by reason of a sentence or other order for imprisonment, necessarily curtails the prisoner’s right to consume the usual range of food that may be enjoyed by a person at liberty in the community. A prisoner will also necessarily be unable to enjoy the full range of cultural practices and customs that they may have enjoyed in the community,” Harris concluded.
The post Australian judge upholds prison Vegemite ban, ruling it is “demonstrably justified” by security concerns appeared first on JURIST - News.
Continue reading...
Note: We don't have any responsibilities about this news. Its been posted here by Feed Reader and we had no controls and checking on it. And because News posted here will be deleted automatically after 21 days, threads are closed so that no one spend time to post and discuss here. You can always check the source and discuss in their site.