In communities where alcohol is banned because of addiction problems, Mr Scullion said Vegemite sales should also be restricted, the BBC’s Jon Donnison in Sydney reports.
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There are 19 communities across Queensland where alcohol is limited or banned.
Brewer’s yeast is a key ingredient in the spread and is used in the production of beer and ale.
But prime minister Tony Abbott has no plans to institute a nationwide ban on the dark brown spread or to create any sort of “Vegemite watch”, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation reported.
News reports, however, have described moonshine operations in dry communities that have utilized bathtubs to ferment alcohol.
The sandwich paste started life as a war-time Marmite substitute but has since become incredibly popular down under.
The homemade alcohol problem is so bad that in some towns, children are showing up to school hungover.
“While we cannot just go out and ban everything that could possibly be used to make illegal alcohol, at the same time common sense needs to take place and if people are purchasing large quantities of an item that could be used for brewing illegal alcohol, questions should always be asked”.
The yeast in Vegemite is apparently being used to make bootleg alcohol: Yeast + sugary juice = not particularly delicious but nevertheless effective moonshine.
“The last thing I want to do is have a Vegemite watch”, Mr Abbott told reporters in Brisbane on Sunday.
Alcoholism has long plagued indigenous Australian communities.
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A 2010 report by government body the Australian Institute of Criminology found that “alcohol is now regarded as one, if not the, primary risk factor for violence in indigenous communities”.
