New Zealand’s Immigration Minister, Erica Stanford, has drawn severe international criticism for her comment that “emails from Indians are like spam.” Her statement, where she claimed she never responds to such unsolicited emails and considers them “spam,” has put the strong relationship between India and New Zealand under scrutiny. During a parliamentary session on May 6, while discussing personal emails, Stanford stated, “I get a lot of unsolicited emails, such as people from India often sending emails asking for immigration advice. I never reply to them. I feel like these should be thrown into spam.” Priyanka Radhakrishnan, a Labour Party MP of Indian origin, strongly condemned this remark, calling it “insensitive and discriminatory.” She added that such a comment, despite the deep relationship between India and New Zealand, reflects a very negative mindset.

As the controversy escalated, Erica Stanford clarified her comments. She claimed that she did not directly consider emails from Indians as ‘spam,’ but rather found them ‘almost like spam.’ It is noteworthy that Erica has been serving as New Zealand’s Immigration Minister since November 27, 2023. Recently, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon visited India in March and met with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. During that visit, discussions revolved around strengthening relations between the two countries in various sectors, including trade, defense, and education. Currently, India and New Zealand are working on a free trade agreement, which is expected to be finalized by the end of 2025. This agreement aims to boost trade in crucial sectors such as agriculture, minerals, pharmaceuticals, and tourism. Furthermore, over 15,000 Indian students are studying in New Zealand, which is a significant example of cooperation in the education sector between the two nations. In such a context, it remains to be seen whether Erica’s comments will have any impact on the cooperation and relationship between the two countries.