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A comprehensive Treaty settlement on commercial fisheries was signed, vesting $170 million with the Waitangi Fisheries Commission to enable it to buy 50 percent of Sealord Products Ltd, a large, Nelson-based fishing company. But the allocation of the fishery resource and proceeds has since caused much disagreement among Māori, particularly between coastal and inland tribes, traditional iwi and newer urban authorities, and the allocation issue remains unresolved more than a decade later. Major settlements were subsequently signed with Tainui in 1995 and Ngāi Tahu in 1998, each at an estimated total value of $170 m.

After a great deal of discussion, led largely by the New Zealand Māori Council, a completely new act regulating Māori land was passed. Under Te Ture Whenua Māori it is now very difficult to purchase remaining Māori land. The Act also seeks to overcome the problems of fragmentation of titles among multiple owners by providing for various kinds of trust under which the land can be managed.

A series of protests in the mid-1990s denoted a new phase of activism on land and Treaty issues. Many were generated in response to the government's proposal to limit the monetary value of Treaty settlements to one billion dollars over ten years, the so-called 'fiscal envelope'. A series of hui around the country graphically illustrated the breadth and depth of Māori rejection of such a limitation in advance of the extent of claims being fully known and much of the policy package, especially the fiscal cap, was subsequently dropped. These protests included occupation of Wanganui's Moutoa Gardens (twice) and the Takahue school in Northland (leading to its destruction by fire). Symbolic acts included attacking Victorian statuary, the America's Cup and the lone pine on One Tree Hill and removing a Colin McCahon painting (subsequently returned) from the Lake Waikaremoana Visitor Centre. Rising protests at the Waitangi Day celebrations led the government to move the official observance to Government House in Wellington.

The Office of Treaty Settlements (OTS) was formed from the previous Treaty of Waitangi Policy Unit (TOWPU). OTS conducts negotiations with Māori claimants on levels of remedy for past breaches of the Treaty of Waitangi. Treaty breaches need to be proven but not necessarily through a Waitangi Tribunal hearing.

Premier from 7 May 1856 to 20 May 1856

Premier from 20 May 1856 to 2 June 1856.

Premier from 2 June 1856 to 12 July 1861.

Premier from 12 July 1861 to 6 August 1862.

Premier from 6 August 1862 to 30 October 1863.

Premier from 30 October 1863 to 24 November 1864.