New Zealand Immigration Minister Erica Stanford finds herself in hot water after, in a parliamentary debate, she admitted to not reading emails from Indians, terming them "almost like spam."
The statement, which was made on May 6 when she was defending her use of her private Gmail address for government correspondence, has come under heavy criticism for being discriminatory and insensitive.
"I made sure to record everything and sent through what was required to my parliamentary email account," Stanford said. She continued, "For instance, there are messages from people in India looking for immigration information. I never get back to them. I regard them as nearly like spam — there are quite a number of them."
The comments were soon sharply criticized by Labour MP Priyanca Radhakrishnan, who has Indian heritage. In an interview with The Indian Weekender, Radhakrishnan criticized the statement, stating, "Such comments reinforce negative stereotypes about an entire community," and terming it inappropriate for a minister to identify specifically an ethnic group.
After the backlash, Stanford released a clarification, claiming that she had been misinterpreted. "I did not say that I regard them as spam," she clarified. "I only said that I regard them nearly similar to spam." But this clarification has done nothing to quiet the storm. New Zealand's Indian community and immigration advocates contend that the statement reveals a problematic attitude toward one of the country's largest migrant groups.
As the debate continues, there are increased calls for a full apology and more responsibility from the minister.
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