The New Zealand Māori Council wants the Māori Affairs and Health select committees to put the heat on Pharmac over funding for breast cancer medication.

Executive director Matthew Tukaki says one in nine women diagnosed with breast cancer are Māori, and they are less likely to be able to afford the unsubsidised medication needed to save or extend their lives.

He says one drug costs New Zealand women $75,000 a year whereas in Australian it can be had for $40 a month.

Mr Tukaki says whānau Māori are being forced to have conversations around death and dying prematurely because a government agency is a law unto itself.

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