Erica Louise Stanford (née Poppelbaum; born 1978)[1][2] is a New Zealand politician and Member of Parliament in the House of Representatives for the National Party.

[13] During the 2023 election, Stanford retained East Coast Bays by a margin of 20,353 votes, defeating Labour's candidate Naisi Chen.

[16] Stanford succeeds previous Ministers of Internal Affairs Jan Tinetti and Tracey Martin in having responsibility for the Royal Commission.

These included a clearer curriculum, focusing on literacy and numeracy, more consistent assessment and achievement reporting, better teacher training, targeted support for students with special needs and an evidence-based approach to educational improvement.

[20] In addition, Stanford confirmed that the Government would end funding for the existing reading recovery programme, which utilises a "whole language" approach based on using pictures to help children guess words.

[22] In early August 2024, Stanford and Luxon announced the Government's "Maths Action Plan" to roll out a new mathematics curriculum from 2025.

[25] On 21 November 2024, Stanford apologised after allegedly swearing at Labour's education spokesperson Jan Tinetti during a Parliamentary Question Time session.

Labour MP Duncan Webb had complained about Stanford's unparliamentary remark to the House Speaker and suggested that she apologise for her comment.

[27] On 7 April 2024 Stanford, as Immigration Minister, announced that the Government would be revising the Accredited Employer Worker Visa programme to address migrant exploitation and "unsustainable" net migration.

[28] In late June 2024, Stanford announced that low-skilled Accredited Employer Work Visa (AEWV) holders at Australian and New Zealand Standard Classification of Occupations (ANZSCO) levels 4 and 5 (the equivalent of NCEA Levels 1, 2 and 3) would no longer be able to sponsor work, visitor or student visa applications for partners and dependent children.

Stanford had earlier said that changes to the AEWV scheme were prompted by the Government's desire to strike a balance between recruiting highly-skilled migrants and reducing pressure on infrastructure, health and education services.

[30] As Minister in charge of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care, Stanford announced on 30 October 2024 that the Government would address a parity issue in a NZ$6.5 million compensation settlement with 95 Lake Alice Hospital survivors in 2001.

[32] In her maiden speech Stanford spoke on matters of conservation, sustainability, marriage based on love rather than gender, and a desire to see political parties work with one another to seek enduring, practical solutions.