Penny Simmonds
Minister for Tertiary Education and Skills, Minister for Science, Innovation and Technology, Associate Minister for Social Development and Employment
Dates describe recorded entries, not a current verification of roles, policy, or source content.
Party
New Zealand National Party
Electorate
Invercargill
Profile source
Knowledge base MP profile
Recorded role topics
Workforce
Policy Watch Summary
Minister for Tertiary Education and Skills — vocational training for older workers and career changers. Associate Minister for Social Development and Employment — employment support for older New Zealanders.
Wikipedia Background
Pulled from Wikipedia and combined with the internal MP profile.
Penelope Elsie Simmonds 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. 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. In April 2026, Simmonds joined the New Zealand Cabinet and gained the tertiary education and science, innovation and technology portfolios.
Role Breakdown
Topics in Recorded Responsibilities
Workforce
Topical match based on recorded role, portfolio, or committee fields. This does not establish a position on this issue.
Recorded Positions
No issue-by-issue quotes have been extracted into the structured MP record yet. Use the linked KB profile and party context below for the underlying evidence.