Water allocation is an increasingly prominent policy issue in Aotearoa New Zealand (NZ), where regulation has largely failed to secure sustainable management of water resources over the past three decades. Although there is abundant water in NZ, the cumulative effects of abstractions and diversions, alongside diffuse pollution from agriculture and other urban and rural land uses, have led to highly degraded and depleted water resources in some locations. This has had significant social and ecological impacts. As a result, governmental planning and decision-making around water allocation (and land-use and development more widely) are increasingly driven by the imperatives to maintain ‘environmental flows’ and safeguard community values. In the NZ context, the Government has special obligations to partner with Māori (Indigenous New Zealanders) in all aspects of environmental management. This task must be informed by principles and values from Te Ao Māori (the Māori world), meaningfully involve Māori in governance and management, and recognise Māori rights and interests in water. Local government (regional councils), which are responsible for defining allocation rules, must ensure rules serve broader freshwater management objectives that are developed through engagement with Māori and wider communities, and which safeguard the health and wellbeing of waterbodies, associated ecosystems, and people.