It comes as Cabinet documents reveal the government provided SIT with part of $20 million in funding to keep its Telford Campus alive against the advice of Treasury, SIT and other officials.
SIT has returned to full autonomy — meanwhile, Otago Polytechnic remains lumped into a federation model with Open Polytechnic and Universal College of Learning.
Ms Simmonds supported the decisions, but told the Otago Daily Times yesterday they were made by Cabinet, not her personally.
Labour MP Rachel Brooking said yesterday the whole situation was unfair to Otago Polytechnic and was just another example of the government ignoring Dunedin’s needs.
"There is one set of rules for SIT and another for Otago Polytechnic," she said.
"The government seems to be down on Dunedin. There’s definitely favouritism."
She described the government’s reform of vocational education as "shameful", particularly as it had forced Otago Polytechnic to cut costs and consider divesting of land holdings.
The government is breaking up mega-polytechnic Te Pukenga into autonomous polytechnics and a federation.
Ms Brooking said Ms Simmonds’ previous role as chief executive of SIT could have led to an "over-investment" in her decision-making, particularly when it came to ensuring SIT regained autonomy.
"It’s a strange thing for the prime minister to appoint as minister someone with such a distinct interest in a particular outcome and this reflects badly on both.
"What is required is somebody else who can look at the criterion for the decisions made around the polytechnics."
Green Party MP Francisco Hernandez said on a financial level, the separate decisions for Otago and SIT did not stack up.
Otago had gone "far further" in its bid to cut costs to become financially viable, in comparison to SIT, which had "barely addressed" its shortfalls as required by the Tertiary Education Commission, he said.
He was also confused by the decision to prop up SIT’s Telford Campus, which had been losing more than $1.5m a year.
"Communities across Aotearoa deserve thriving polytechnics that can cater to the needs of their learners and wider communities.
"It is troubling that the government has publicly and proudly announced funding support for SIT, but there has been no public funding support for Otago Polytechnic yet.
"Job cuts, campus closures and course cuts will not create viable polytechnics, but real funding support and a real plan for transition will."
Ms Simmonds said the Telford Campus decision was made by Cabinet, not her personally.
"This decision reflects the government’s wider dedication to maintaining access to vocational education across all regions.
"Agriculture is the backbone of New Zealand’s economy, and vocational education plays a crucial role in developing the skills our rural industries need to thrive."
Asked about the different decisions for Otago and SIT, Ms Simmonds said it was a debt issue.
"The debt and cash reserves of both SIT and Otago Polytechnic when they went into Te Pūkenga contributed to the decision — Otago Polytechnic had $16.1m debt and $1.3m in cash reserves, SIT had no debt and $40.1m in cash reserves, of which $15.6m were ring-fenced.
"Supporting Otago Polytechnic to achieve a surplus is critical.
"With the support of a soon-to-be-appointed Establishment Advisory Group (EAG), I am confident Otago Polytechnic will continue to progress along its financial viability pathway. At that stage, they would not require the support of the federation if they did not wish to use it."
Programme and campus decisions were made by polytechnics and their councils, not by ministers, Ms Simmonds said.
