New Zealand’s Minister of Immigration, Erica Stanford, has come under significant criticism for remarks perceived as racially insensitive towards Indians, following a parliamentary exchange that likened emails from Indians seeking immigration advice to spam. The comments provoked a strong response, notably from Indian-origin Labour Party MP Priyanca Radhakrishnan, who was born in Chennai.
What Did Erica Stanford Say?
On 6 May 2025, during a parliamentary session, Labour MP Willow-Jean Prime asked Minister Stanford to confirm whether every email related to her ministerial portfolios sent to or from her personal email account had been properly recorded, as required by the Cabinet Manual. Stanford replied, “I have complied with the Official Information Act. I have also made sure that everything is available to be captured and have forwarded everything that I’ve needed to to my parliamentary email address.”
However, Stanford then added a contentious remark: “I will acknowledge, though, in a very similar case to Kelvin Davis, I receive a lot of unsolicited emails like, for example, things from people in India asking for immigration advice, which I never respond to. I almost regard those as being akin to spam, and so there are those ones. But, similarly, other Ministers have had probably very similar issues.”
This comment effectively singled out Indians as a group whose emails she considered comparable to spam.
Why Were Erica Stanford’s Gmail Practices Under Scrutiny?
The questioning arose after it was revealed that Stanford had used her personal Gmail account for official government correspondence, including forwarding pre-Budget announcements to herself for printing.
This practice raised concerns about compliance with official record-keeping protocols.
Stanford admitted to this breach of best practice and assured Parliament that she had taken steps to prevent such occurrences in the future.
What Did MP Priyanca Radhakrishnan Say?
Priyanca Radhakrishnan, an Indian-born Labour MP, responded sharply to Stanford’s remarks on social media. She wrote, “Earlier this week, in response to a question by Willow Jean Prime the Immigration Minister felt the need to single out people from one country/ethnicity in a negative light. If you’re from India, don’t bother emailing her because it’s automatically considered spam.”
Radhakrishnan criticised the comments as undermining New Zealand’s government efforts to strengthen ties with India, stating, “So much for the National govt’s all-of-government focus on strengthening the relationship between India & NZ and focus on people-to-people links.”
She described Stanford’s remarks as “careless at best and prejudiced at worst,” emphasising that such stereotyping reinforces negative perceptions against an entire community.
The Labour Party MP also added a news screenshot of news article with the headline ‘Luxon calls for an all-of New Zealand investment India relationship”.
Christopher Luxon is the 42nd Prime Minister of New Zealand, and belongs to New Zealand National Party.
Erica Stanford Issues Clarification
In the wake of the backlash, Erica Stanford sought to clarify her statement, asserting that her comments had been misunderstood. “I did not say that I consider them as spam,” she explained. “I only said that I consider them almost akin to spam,” attempting to soften the original phrasing.
Erica Stanford further clarified that her official correspondence is handled through her parliamentary email account, and unsolicited emails to her personal account, including those from overseas, are not part of her ministerial duties and therefore do not receive responses.
Who is Erica Stanford?
Erica Louise Stanford, born in 1978, is a New Zealand National Party politician currently serving as the 49th Minister of Education and the 60th Minister of Immigration. She has represented the East Coast Bays electorate since 2017 and was appointed to her ministerial roles following the formation of the National-led government in 2023.
Stanford’s background includes work in export sales and television production before entering politics. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in politics from the University of Auckland and is noted for her progressive stances within the National Party, including support for decriminalising abortion and euthanasia.
Who is India-Origin New Zealand MP Priyanca Radhakrishnan?
Priyanca Radhakrishnan is a Labour Party MP of Indian origin, born in Chennai and raised partly in Singapore before moving to New Zealand for higher education. She made history as the first Indian-Kiwi woman to become a minister in New Zealand in 2020.
Radhakrishnan has held portfolios including Minister for Ethnic Communities and Minister for Diversity, Inclusion and Ethnic Communities. She is a vocal advocate for multiculturalism, ethnic minority rights, and social justice, often speaking out against racial stereotyping and discrimination.
