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Penny Simmonds

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The Honourable
Penny Simmonds
CNZM MP
Simmonds in 2023
Member of the New Zealand Parliament
for Invercargill
Incumbent
Assumed office
17 October 2020
Preceded bySarah Dowie
Majority10,945[1]
17th Minister for the Environment
Incumbent
Assumed office
27 November 2023
Prime MinisterChristopher Luxon
Preceded byDavid Parker
Personal details
BornSeptember 1959 (age 65)
Southland, New Zealand
Political partyNational
SpouseMarty Irwin
Children3
Alma materUniversity of Otago

Penelope Elsie Simmonds CNZM MP (born September 1959)[2] is a New Zealand politician, Member of Parliament and a Minister in the House of Representatives for the National Party. She previously served as the chief executive of the Southern Institute of Technology.[3] Following the 2023 New Zealand general election, Simmonds assumed the disability issues, environmental, tertiary education and skills, and associate social development and employment portfolios in the Sixth National Government.[4]

Early life and career

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Simmonds was born in Southland and grew up in Riversdale[5] and Te Tipua. She attended Gore High School and received a Bachelor of Science from the University of Otago.[6] She served in the New Zealand Territorial Force for several years.[7]

Simmonds was the chief executive of the Southern Institute of Technology (SIT) from 1997 to October 2020.[8] During this time she implemented SIT's Zero Fees Scheme.[9] She took leave from 29 June 2020 in order to focus on her political campaign, with deputy chief executive Maree Howden acting in her place.[10] Upon her election to parliament she resigned her position with SIT.[11]

Simmonds has had a close working relationship with Invercargill Mayor Tim Shadbolt, as evidenced by him consulting with her during the 2010 Invercargill mayoral election.[6] Shadbolt attended her 2020 election night party, for which he received criticism from city councillor and former Labour MP Lesley Soper for listing it as an official mayoral engagement.[12]

She has been a director of the Southland Museum and Art Gallery and a board member of the Southland District Health Board.[8]

Political career

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New Zealand Parliament
Years Term Electorate List Party
2020–2023 53rd Invercargill 63 National
2023–present 54th Invercargill 16 National

2020 general election

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Simmonds was selected as the National Party candidate for Invercargill in May 2020 following Sarah Dowie's decision to retire.[8] Dowie had originally been selected to run again in September 2019.[13] Simmonds had been rumoured as a potential candidate for about fifteen years prior.[10]

Key points of Simmonds' campaign were opposing the merging of New Zealand's polytechnics and keeping the Tiwai Point Aluminium Smelter open. During the brief National Party leadership of Todd Muller, Simmonds felt so frustrated at the lack of communication that she began instead talking to Botany candidate Christopher Luxon, seen as a potential future party leader.[14]

First term, 2020–2023

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Simmonds defeated Labour list MP Liz Craig in the 2020 election, retaining the Invercargill seat for National by a margin of 224 votes.[15][16][17]

In mid-November 2021, Simmonds joined her party in expressing opposition to the Labour Government's COVID-19 Protection Framework ("traffic light system"), which she described as "confusing." She also voted against the Government's COVID-19 Response (Vaccinations) Legislation Act 2021, claiming that the vaccine mandate would hurt businesses and the disabled.[18]

Simmonds also opposed the Contraception, Sterilisation, and Abortion (Safe Areas) Amendment Act 2022, which established "safe zones" around abortion providers. The bill passed its third reading on 16 March 2022.[19]

In response to a leaked report obtained by Radio New Zealand in May 2022 which identified several financial and capacity problems with the merger of the various polytechnics and industrial training organisations into the new mega polytechnic network Te Pūkenga, Simmonds in her capacity as National's tertiary education spokesperson urged the Government to abandon its polytechnic merger plans and instead invest more money into struggling institutions.[20] Following reports of inadequate leadership, low enrollments, and a NZ$110 million deficit at Te Pūkenga, Simmonds questioned the viability of the new educational provider. She also criticised the creation of 180 administrative jobs at Te Pūkenga's Hamilton headquarters in the light of 600 projected redundancies resulting from the polytechnic merger process. Simmonds also claimed that Te Pūkenga's CEO Stephen Town's departure on "special leave" signaled significant problems with the new education provider.[21] In mid-August 2022, Simmonds alleged that Town had been "shoulder-tapped" for the position of CEO of Te Pūkenga and lodged an Official Information Act request to identify the person who recommended Town for the executive job.[22]

On 19 January 2023, Simmonds became the National Party's Workforce Planning spokesperson during a reshuffle of Party leader Christopher Luxon's shadow cabinet.[23][24]

Second term, 2023–present

[edit]

During the 2023 New Zealand general election, Simmonds retained the Invercargill seat by a margin of 10,945 votes, defeating Labour's candidate Liz Craig.[1]

Following the formation of the National-led coalition government in late November 2023, Simmonds was appointed as Minister for Disability Issues, Minister for the Environment, Minister for Tertiary Education and Skills, and Associate Minister for Social Development and Employment.[4]

In early December 2023 Simmonds, in her capacity as Tertiary Education Minister, confirmed that the Government would be dissolving the mega polytechnic Te Pūkenga and replacing it with eight to ten institutions. she stated that the Government would no longer centralise vocational training and education and that the polytechnics would regain their autonomy. Simmonds also said that the Government would introduce legislation entrenching the dissolution of Te Pūkenga into law over the next six to eight months.[25][26] Simmonds has aimed for this revamp of the tertiary and vocational sector to be completed by 1 January 2025.[26] While the Tertiary Education Union national secretary Sandra Grey expressed concern that the dissolution of Te Pūkenga would undermine staff morale and foster unnecessary competition within the polytechnic sector, former Otago Polytechnic CEO Phil Kerr welcomed the re-establishment of autonomous polytechnics.[25][26]

On 19 March the Ministry for Disabled People abruptly announced that it would remove respite care funding in families with disabled children. As Disability Issues Minister, Simmonds announced the funding would run out within days. According to Stuff, Simmonds was first aware of funding issues back in December 2023. She said the Government was not going to increase funding to maintain support for disabled people and their families "because the Government's coffers are not an endless open pit".[27] On 20 March, Simmonds said the Ministry had done an inadequate job in conveying changes to disabled people's funding. She also questioned how the money has been spent, and suggested some families were wasting their funding on “massages, overseas travel and pedicures”. The changes have caused widespread anguish within the disabled community and a petition opposing the changes has attracted more than 10,000 signatures in 24 hours. [28] That same day, Finance Minister Nicola Willis called Disabilities officials and Simmonds in for an urgent briefing, after families were blindsided by news of cuts to respite care. Willis advised that news came as a surprise, and that she was unaware about how dire the situation was before news broke.[29]

On 24 April, Simmonds was stripped of her Disability Issues portfolio by Prime Minister Christopher Luxon due to criticism of her handling of changes to Government disability funding policies. She was replaced as Disability Issues Minister by Minister for Social Development Louise Upston, whose Ministry has oversight over the Ministry for Disabled People.[30]

Personal life

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Simmonds is married with three daughters, the youngest of whom has Down's syndrome.[7][31] She received a Woolf Fisher Fellowship in 2000, and was appointed a Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit, for services to education, sport and the community, in the 2016 New Year Honours.[8][32]

References

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  1. ^ a b "Invercargill - Official Result". Electoral Commission. 3 November 2023. Archived from the original on 23 November 2023. Retrieved 10 December 2023.
  2. ^ Young, Audrey (24 August 2023). "Election 2023: Meet Penny Simmonds, National's Invercargill MP tipped for Cabinet". New Zealand Herald.
  3. ^ "Election 2020: The 40 diverse new MPs entering Parliament". Newstalk ZB. 18 October 2020. Archived from the original on 22 October 2020. Retrieved 16 November 2020 – via The New Zealand Herald.
  4. ^ a b "Cabinet lineup for new government unveiled - who gets what?". Radio New Zealand. 24 November 2023. Archived from the original on 4 December 2023. Retrieved 15 December 2023.
  5. ^ Cook, Marjorie (6 August 2020). "Election 2020: National candidate Penny Simmonds makes first bid for Invercargill electorate". Archived from the original on 9 October 2020. Retrieved 8 October 2020.
  6. ^ a b Fallow, Michael (11 November 2020). "Penny Simmonds – a consequential career". Archived from the original on 20 November 2020. Retrieved 10 November 2020.
  7. ^ a b "Invercargill MP Penny Simmonds delivers maiden speech". Stuff.co.nz. 24 March 2021.
  8. ^ a b c d Savory, Logan (19 May 2020). "Education boss Penny Simmonds to run for Invercargill seat". Archived from the original on 8 October 2020. Retrieved 8 October 2020.
  9. ^ "A celebration of service". 31 December 2015. Archived from the original on 1 October 2019. Retrieved 8 October 2020.
  10. ^ a b Girao, Luisa (20 June 2020). "SIT head on leave to run National Party campaign". Archived from the original on 14 October 2020. Retrieved 8 October 2020.
  11. ^ Steyl, Louisa (6 November 2020). "Penny Simmonds takes Invercargill electorate seat". Stuff. Archived from the original on 18 November 2020. Retrieved 16 November 2020.
  12. ^ Savory, Logan (27 October 2020). "Councillor criticises Sir Tim Shadbolt for attending election night function and declaring it as a mayoral duty". Archived from the original on 1 November 2020. Retrieved 10 November 2020.
  13. ^ Manch, Thomas (11 February 2020). "Invercargill MP Sarah Dowie unexpectedly retires from Parliament". Archived from the original on 17 July 2020. Retrieved 8 October 2020.
  14. ^ Harman, Richard (14 July 2020). "Why Muller failed". Archived from the original on 12 August 2020. Retrieved 8 October 2020.
  15. ^ "Invercargill – Official Result". Elections. Electoral Commission. Retrieved 16 November 2020.
  16. ^ "Special delivery: what will those extra votes change for Invercargill?". Stuff. 22 October 2020. Archived from the original on 23 October 2020. Retrieved 22 October 2020.
  17. ^ "2020 General Election and Referendums – Official Result". Electoral Commission. 6 November 2020. Retrieved 6 November 2020.
  18. ^ "COVID-19 Response (Vaccinations) Legislation Bill — First Reading". New Zealand Parliament. 23 November 2021. Archived from the original on 24 November 2021. Retrieved 27 July 2022.
  19. ^ "Contraception, Sterilisation, and Abortion (Safe Areas) Amendment Bill — Third Reading". New Zealand Parliament. 16 March 2022. Archived from the original on 17 March 2022. Retrieved 27 July 2022.
  20. ^ Gerritsen, John (26 May 2022). "Report shows doubts about national polytechnic, Te Pūkenga". Radio New Zealand. Archived from the original on 27 June 2022. Retrieved 27 July 2022.
  21. ^ Ward, Stephen (11 July 2022). "National slams problems at mega polytech Te Pūkenga". Stuff. Archived from the original on 15 July 2022. Retrieved 27 July 2022.
  22. ^ Ward, Stephen (12 August 2022). "Embattled Te Pūkenga CEO Stephen Town was shoulder tapped for top job – MP". Waikato Times. Stuff. Archived from the original on 12 August 2022. Retrieved 15 August 2022.
  23. ^ "National reshuffle: Luxon promotes former leaders Judith Collins, Todd Muller". The New Zealand Herald. 19 January 2023. Archived from the original on 19 January 2023. Retrieved 19 January 2023.
  24. ^ New Zealand National Party (19 January 2023). "Luxon Sets Out Team To Contest The 2023 Election". Scoop. Archived from the original on 19 January 2023. Retrieved 19 January 2023.
  25. ^ a b "Te Pūkenga to be replaced with 8-10 institutions - minister". Radio New Zealand. 8 December 2023. Retrieved 20 December 2023.
  26. ^ a b c Tupou, Laura (8 December 2023). "Council chair at Te Pūkenga mega polytech Murray Strong resigns". Newshub. Archived from the original on 10 December 2023. Retrieved 20 December 2023.
  27. ^ McConnell, Glen; Bhatia, Ripu (19 March 2024). "Parents worried their children will suffer after disability services suddenly cut". Stuff. Retrieved 20 March 2024.
  28. ^ "We got it wrong on disability announcement - Minister Penny Simmonds". Radio New Zealand. 20 March 2024. Retrieved 20 March 2024.
  29. ^ McConnell, Glen (19 March 2024). "Finance Minister Nicola Willis calls in officials after cuts to disability services". Stuff. Retrieved 20 March 2024.
  30. ^ "Media Minister Melissa Lee demoted from Cabinet, Penny Simmonds stripped of portfolio". Radio New Zealand. 24 April 2024. Archived from the original on 24 April 2024. Retrieved 24 April 2024.
  31. ^ Houlahan, Mike (3 April 2021). "New National MP tells his rags-to-riches tale". Otago Daily Times.
  32. ^ "New Year honours list 2016". Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. 31 December 2015. Retrieved 27 November 2023.
New Zealand Parliament
Preceded by Member of Parliament for Invercargill
2020–present 		Incumbent
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