Biography
Penny Simmonds is the Member of Parliament for Invercargill. First elected in 2020, she is Minister for Science, Innovation and Technology and Minister for Tertiary Education and Skills.
Impact this term
54th Parliament · since the 2023 general election
These are factual counts from the public record, not a score. MPs do different jobs: ministers run portfolios rather than sponsoring members’ bills, and MPs first elected in 2023 have a shorter record. We show the facts so you can decide what counts as doing enough.
Policies they shape, and why
Bills they’ve worked on
Voting record
Most votes in Parliament are party votes, where MPs vote as a block with their party. So on the large majority of votes Penny Simmonds voted the same way as National. The votes that show an MP’s own view are conscience (personal) votes, where MPs vote individually.
No conscience (personal) votes are recorded for Penny Simmonds this term. These votes are rare, because Parliament decides most matters by party vote. We record them from Hansard as they occur.
Declared interests
What Penny Simmonds has declared in the official register: directorships, property, trusts, debts and gifts. Registers actual and potential conflicts of interest; it is not a measure of wealth.
4 Beneficial interests in, and trusteeships of, trusts EM Simmonds Trust (trustee and beneficiary) Penny Simmonds Family Trust (trustee and beneficiary) 6 Real property Family home and farm (jointly owned) – Mabel Bush, Southland Farm (jointly owned) – Ryal Bush, Southland Family cribs (x3; owned by family trust) – Riverton, Southland Rental property (owned by family trust) – Invercargill 7 Retirement schemes AMP KiwiSaver Hon Scott
Register of Pecuniary Interests (parliament.nz) · as at 31 January 2026Taxpayer-funded expenses
Travel and accommodation paid by Parliamentary Service for 1 January – 31 March 2026. Ministers’ expenses are disclosed separately.
Roles & responsibilities
Latest coverage
News and video mentioning Penny Simmonds, from the sources on our coverage page.
In the news
Details sourced from parliament.nz and the public record. Bills, written questions, declared interests and expenses refresh automatically from Parliament’s official sources; conscience votes are recorded from Hansard as they occur. Photo: New Zealand National Party, CC BY-SA 4.0 (source ).