White supremacist Philip Arps revealed his candidacy for a multicultural Christchurch school. Photo / RNZ
By RNZ
The Associate Education Minister has sought urgent advice about school board elections, after a white supremacist revealed his candidacy for a multicultural Christchurch school.
Philip Arps is standing for Te Aratai College's board of trustees in Linwood.
He was sentenced to 21 months' jail for sharing footage of the Christchurch terror attack.
Minister Jan Tinetti said she had sought advice about the scope of a code of conduct that was being developed for school boards.
"We're also looking around that eligibility to start with as well, so how we can tie the legislation in with the code of conduct. At this stage it's at the advice level, but I'm really seeking that with some haste."
Tinetti said she had also been examining whether legislative changes needed to be made.
She had sought urgent advice about whether the code, which was already being developed, could be tied to someone's eligibility, she said.
"I want to see whether there's room for that to strengthen the work of who is eligible or what people can declare when they come through to stand for a board. I'm not sure what that will look like but that's what I'm seeking."
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