Wednesday's papers: "backdown" by Labour over Foreshore & Seabed Act; rethink of the North and South Island names; Govt looking at selling military bases to pay for an overhaul of Defence equipment.
NZ Herald
The New Zealand Herald leads with what it calls a "backdown" by Labour over the Foreshore & Seabed Act. Labour's submission to a review of the act is that iwi and hapu should be allowed to claim customary title, a right that its legislation extinguished.
A Massey University historian is calling for Maori players who were not allowed to tour South Africa with the All Blacks last century to be awarded retrospective caps.
A soldier returning from Afghanistan is pictured being welcomed home by his partner and three week old son.
Dominion Post
The Dominion Post reports a warning from officials that hard line laws may push desperate criminals to kill people to avoid arrest is among the advice the Government has received about a bill to toughen sentences for serious crime.
Mama Mia, the stage musical of Abba's hit songs, is coming to the capital.
Options for renaming the North and South Islands are looked at.
The Press
The Press reports hundreds of Christchurch women are paying for a new test which shows the number of child-bearing years they have left. Experts say the tests will lead to a rise in the freezing of eggs.
The Government is looking at selling military bases to pay for an overhaul of Defence equipment.
Police began another manhunt after elusive fugitive William Stewart was spotted near Ashburton.
ODT
The Otago Daily Times leads with a caution that aggressive drunks are putting off women doctors. A Balclutha GP says the risk to doctors working after hours in rural areas is a factor making it difficult to recruit more.
The man who triggered a rethink of the North and South Island names, Keith Darroch, says it's "cultural censorship" that the name "Aotearoa" for the North Island is still not being looked at.
