Students at Palmerston North school protest Act leader David Seymour, spit at his shoes

A student at a school in Manawatū allegedly spat at Act leader David Seymour in protest during his visit today.

Students of Freyberg High School in Palmerston North performed a haka as Seymour went to leave the school on Thursday.

Video seen by the Herald shows one student approach the associate education minister during the haka and spit at his shoes.

Teachers at the school appear to step in after the incident, with some reportedly creating a human barrier between Seymour and the students as he left.

Stuff reported that Seymour’s Crown car was also kicked as it drove out of the school’s gate.

Seymour told Stuff the spit did not hit him.

“That’s just the way it goes, kids get a bit excited.. one kid got a bit excited.”

He said the student spat at the ground in front of him and called the incident a bit “theatrical”.

The protest came just over a week after Seymour described free school lunches as “wasteful” public spending and argued that the new Government should cut them.

Freyberg High School receives free school lunches as part of the Ka Ora, Ka Ako, programme.

Seymour attacked free school lunches during the election campaign, describing them as “wasteful”, “unaffordable”, and a “marketing stunt”. He urged National to abandon the programme if it got back into power.

As the minister responsible for the policy, Seymour told the Herald: “I take the issue of free school lunches extremely seriously, and it is under consideration as part of the Government putting together a Budget.