Martinborough wine pioneer dies
national strategies presents some interesting challenges,’’ he said.
The Ministry of Health did not comment.
Ian McCrae, head of the country’s largest health software firm, Orion Health, said there had been a history of health IT underfunding across the country.
‘‘That is evidenced by servers being up to a decade old and very old versions of software that is hard to maintain. There have been programmes in many DHBs to sort that situation out,’’ he said.
‘‘The challenge for the National Health IT Board was trying to run a national health IT programme when it wasn’t really funded.
‘‘When you are trying to pull off these countrywide projects you have got to have some resources and they didn’t have it.’’
Some ‘‘progressive’’ DHBs such as Waitemata, Counties Manukau and Canterbury DHBs had pressed ahead with their own electronic health records projects which had ‘‘pretty much identical’’ objectives to the proposed national system. The question now was how they would fit together, he said.
The Government had originally proposed national electronic health records by 2014, saying they would provide a summary of a person’s GP visits, specialist and hospital treatment, test results and prescriptions that could be securely shared among health professionals and accessed by patients.
In addition to the regional DHB schemes, about 330 GP surgeries have partially filled the vacuum by setting up their own electronic patient portals, which are delivering a significant subset of the expected benefits of electronic records to the 136,000 patients who currently have access to them.
Southwell said National Health IT Board chairman Murray Milner would be involved in the new advisory board, but its chief executive, Graeme Osborne, would be moving on at the end of the month after making ‘‘a significant leadership contribution across the ministry and the wider sector’’.
The new Digital Advisory Group will advise the directorgeneral of health, Chai Chuah, he said. The man who helped put Martinborough on the world wine map has died.
Palliser Estate founding managing director Richard Riddiford died on Tuesday night following a short illness.
Palliser Estate is one of Martinborough’s largest wine producers.
Riddiford retired in May last year, after 25 years as the head of the wine company.
He led industry initiatives including Toast Martinborough, the Pinot Noir conferences and the Family of Twelve – a fraternity of 12 of New Zealand’s artisanal wineries that promote New Zealand wine in key export markets.
He was recognised widely for his outstanding contribution to the industry and in 2000, when he was made a member of the New Zealand Order of Merit.
In 2010 he was inducted into the New Zealand Wine Hall of Fame and last year was inducted as a Fellow of New Zealand Wineggrowers. His work played a significant role in putting the district on the world wine map. Proposed changes to New Zealand’s electricity pricing structure have been described as a ‘‘regional tax by stealth’’ by submitters.
Submissions have now closed on the plan, which would result in price rises for Northland and Auckland in particular.
The Electricity Authority said it was a fairer way to pay for the national electricity grid but meant some regions would pay more for the benefit of better infrastructure.
Toast Martinborough chairman Pete Monk said he was saddened to hear of Riddiford’s death.
‘‘He left an indelible mark on the community … After what that man has done, he deserved a long retirement.’’
Monk took on the Toast Martinborough role after Riddiford retired from the board. ‘‘It was a privilege to take on the role after him – there are festivals across the world that look at Toast with admiration and that’s all down to his vision and passion.’’ Over time, it should reduce costs for the industry and consumers.
The overall impact on residential prices would be an increase of 0.5 per cent, or $11 per household per year.
The biggest increases would be worn by consumers in Auckland, Northland, Ashburton and the West Coast.
One of the biggest beneficiaries of the overhaul would be Rio Tinto’s Tiwai Point aluminum smelter in Southland, with annual charges projected to drop by $21 million.
Monk said tributes had been flowing in for him, since the small community heard of his passing.
‘‘He’s left us a lot, but it’s sad he’s not here to enjoy all his hard work.’’
Negociants New Zealand managing director Clive Weston, who had known Riddiford for 26 years, said he was sitting on a bullet train between Beijing and Shanghai when he heard the news.
‘‘I got a call from a personal friend who had been camped at his bedside for a couple of days. It’s very sad.’’
Weston described Riddiford as visionary, a straight-shooter, and very modest. ‘‘He achieved a great deal, but never bragged about it. He earned a lot of respect.’’
The Pinot Noir conferences were Riddiford’s ‘‘brain child’’, Weston said.
‘‘His ideas were never flash in the pan … They were very enduring and, in a sense, his thinking is global.’’
Wine writer Raymond Chan, who considered Riddiford a mentor, said he knew he was unwell, but said his death was sudden. Chan described Riddiford as a ‘‘special man’’.
The Employers and Manufacturers Association was among those submitting on the changes.
‘‘This is a tax by stealth on our members, and for some of them it will severely impact their business,’’ Kim Campbell, its chief executive, said.
The proposal seemed to be more about subsidising the smelter than sound policy, he said.
Entrust, formerly the Auckland Energy Consumer Trust, said interest had been strong, given consumers were rarely interested in regulatory consultation.