Penny Simmonds MP

Despite much fanfare, and a $486 million spend from the Government, Health NZ has yet to deliver any real results for Southland. As part of the restructure, the Southern District Health Board was disestablished on July 1 and our local voice, and much of the scrutiny of our health services, was lost.

Polytechnics in the South are being forced to cut millions from their budgets because the Government’s mega-merger polytechnic entity Te Pūkenga is in such a mess, National’s Tertiary Education spokesperson and Invercargill MP Penny Simmonds says. “The Southern Institute of Technology (SIT) will be

The Government has failed Southland’s meat industry with its unrealistic immigration settings, which have created labour shortages, and are now affecting our exporting ability. The Meat Industry Association says meat exports are down a massive 11 percent this quarter, from the same time last year, a

South’s health crisis could be lost to Govt health reforms – Sapere report likely to fall on deaf ears – Simmonds Invercargill MP Penny Simmonds fears critically needed action to improve the South’s ailing health services will not be addressed with sufficient urgency as the Government’s health refor

International student numbers at the Southern Institute of Technology (SIT) have decreased since Covid 19. Across the country, the pandemic has seen numbers fall from 50,920 in 2020 to 39,005 in 2021 – a decrease of 23%. International students were once New Zealand’s fifth biggest export earner, bri

Labour’s Invercargill MP Liz Craig needs to reflect on who she’s representing in Parliament as she blocks a briefing into Government mental health funding, in her role as chair of the Health Select Committee, Invercargill MP Penny Simmonds says. “As Health Select Committee chair this was Dr Craig’s

The Government’s drought declaration for the South, is big on talk, but small on funding support, Invercargill MP Penny Simmonds says. “While I’m pleased that the Agriculture Minister has recognised the hardship local farmers are experiencing, by declaring a medium-scale adverse drought event, I don

There’s no doubt that the past couple of years have been tough for Southlanders. From postponed weddings, to funerals where the numbers were limited, cancelled school and community events and business owners under financial pressure. Local people have done the right thing for a long time – but I now