Pharmac proposes removing priority access of type 2 diabetes meds for Māori, Pasifika
Associate Professor Dr Ryan Paul, a clinician and technical expert advisor to Te Tiratū, has expressed serious concern in an interview with 1News about proposed changes to funding criteria for type 2 diabetes medicines. He warns that removing ethnicity-based access pathways could deepen existing inequities for Māori and Pacific peoples.
The proposed Pharmac changes would expand general access to medicines such as empagliflozin, liraglutide, and dulaglutide, but would remove targeted pathways that currently acknowledge the higher burden of diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and kidney disease experienced by Māori and Pacific populations.
Te Tiratū co-chair Glen Tupuhi notes that equity-focused pathways were introduced because the health system has repeatedly failed to deliver fair outcomes for Māori, who are diagnosed earlier, experience more severe disease, and have higher rates of premature mortality from preventable long-term conditions.
Māori clinicians and health leaders have cautioned that the proposed shift could undo one of the most effective equity interventions introduced in recent years.
The consultation closes on 28 May 2026.
Iwi Māori partnership boards unite to oppose changes to health legislation
Photo: Te Tiratū Iwi Māori Partnership Board Co-chair Hagen Tautari
Iwi Māori Partnership Boards (IMPBs) from across Aotearoa are standing together to oppose proposed amendments to the Pae Ora Act, raising concerns that the changes would weaken their statutory role and reduce Māori oversight in the health system. The fifteen boards, representing over 900,000 Māori, are meeting in New Plymouth for the first time since the Bill’s first reading to build a unified national voice, safeguard local accountability, and ensure health services remain responsive to whānau needs. The hui and the boards’ stance have been covered by 1News/Te Karere highlighting the nationwide concern that these changes could undermine decades of partnership work and progress in Māori health equity.
Te Tiratū on 1News: Pae Ora amendments spark national conversation
Our co-chair Hagen Tautari getting ready to be interviewed by 1News at Kirikiriroa Marae
Our co-chair Hagen Tautari featured on 1News this week, representing the voice of Te Tiratū and our wider iwi Māori communities, as the government proposes changes to the Pae Ora (Healthy Futures) Act.
There are 15 Iwi Māori Partnership Boards (IMPBs) across the motu, each tasked with identifying the health needs of Māori in their region and advising Health New Zealand (Te Whatu Ora) on how to address those needs.
“We’ve been legislated to provide a voice of whānau,” said Hagen Tautari. “That’s why we’re so important.”
Under the previous health minister, IMPBs were also set to receive decision-making powers. However, the current Minister of Health has signalled a different direction.
“Health New Zealand gets a huge amount of money each year from the government, and we expect them to deliver for patients,” the Minister said.
In response, Hagen made it clear that iwi Māori want more than a seat at the table.
“I think everybody would want to be more than just an advisory group,” he told 1News.
While Te Tiratū supports the Minister’s back-to-basics approach of putting patients first, and the stated goal of timely, quality healthcare for all New Zealanders, Tautari says the proposals risk centralising decision-making in Wellington — undermining decades of hard-won progress to improve outcomes for the highest-need group in Aotearoa’s health system.
Questions remain about how equity will be upheld. Te Tiratū stands firm in our role — ensuring Māori voices are heard and upheld at every level of health system decision-making.