New Zealand / Education

White supremacist Philip Arps fails in bid to be elected to school board

14:19 pm on 13 September 2022

Philip Arps was sentenced to 21 months in prison for sharing a video of the Christchurch mosque terror attack. Photo: RNZ / Nate McKinnon

A convicted white supremacist has failed in a bid to be elected to a Christchurch school's board.

Philip Arps put his name forward as a candidate for one of the five parent representatives at Te Aratai College in Linwood.

Arps was jailed for 21 months after sharing footage of the 15 March Christchurch mosque attacks.

The board election results were published earlier today by school leaders.

Principal Richard Edmundson said all nine candidates had been notified of the outcome and the outcome endorsed the community's multi-cultural values.

"It's a clear acknowledgement we live in a bi-cultural nation and multi-cultural communities and Aotearoa New Zealand is a diverse population ... and we welcome that."

Arps received 25 votes, with the next lowest candidate of the nine who ran receiving 131, Edmundson said.

Associate Minister of Education Jan Tinetti sought advice about the scope of a code of conduct being developed for school boards after Arps revealed his candidacy for the board.