Signing Te Tiriti o Waitangi had both positive and negative impacts for Maori. These are detailed below:
Loss of land - In 1845, George Grey became Govenor and wanted a lot more land for settlers. It was said that he purchase 3 million acres in the North Island and 30 million acres in the South. This was roughly 50% of New Zealand. Although this was done legally, the Crown often paid minimally.
War & subsequent confiscation of land - Some tribes (such as those in Taranaki), refused to sell their land during this period and instead fought the British through war. This resulted in the casualties of both adults and children.
After the British won, they chose to punish those hapu by confiscating their land. However, they took more land with the promise they would give some back to Maori for their families to live. This did not happen for approximately 10 years, and it was noted that even then, they were still not given the amount of land that they had been promised.
Kohimarama Conference - Following the above war, a 3 day Conference was held in an attempt to stop this from happening with other tribes. Over 100 chiefs attended, and the time was spent explaining the treaty to them. From this, the chiefs began coming to the realization that this is not what they perceived from the translation. The Crown then promised to hold more conferences, however this did not occur.
Waitangi Tribunal - This was created to follow the Treaty of Waitangi Act 1975. It inquires into claims bought by Maori regarding breaches of the promised made in the Treaty of Waitangi. This can be related to legislation, actions or policies. Although they do not enforce the law, the tribunal makes recommendations to the Government.