7 Feb 2011

Morning Report: local papers

7:24 am on 7 February 2011

Monday's headlines: Time called on female drinking culture; Waitangi Day prophecy of destruction for Wellington; record temperature of 40.3 degrees at Timaru airport on Sunday.

NZ Herald

The New Zealand Herald reports demand for rental property in Auckland is at crisis point, with some houses attracting as many as 200 prospective tenants.

The paper also backgrounds one of the biggest betting scandals in Australasian sport.

It says a New Zealand connection has emerged to a North Queensland league game currently under police investigation across the Tasman, with the TAB having alerted authorities over a suspicious bet.

Dominion Post

The Dominion Post says the police are calling time on the female drinking culture after most fans needing medical attention at the IRB Rugby Sevens turned out to be young women.

Experts say a Waitangi Day prophecy of destruction for Wellington should be taken with a pinch of salt - though a massive earthquake in the capital is inevitable.

Anglican minister and kaumatua Gray Theodore stunned the crowd at the Treaty grounds when he disclosed a vision of body bags in the streets of Wellington.

The Press

The Press says South Islanders endured record-breaking temperatures on Sunday as the effects of Cyclone Yasi finally reached New Zealand shores. Timaru airport recorded a record 40.3 degrees celsius.

Five months after the big earthquake in Canterbury, the paper updates the state of central Christchurch.

Even more vacant building sites will appear as the council forces property owners to repair or demolish damaged buildings.

And the paper's political staff says a rift between radical and conservative wings of the Maori Party was brutally exposed at Waitangi weekend.

Co-leaders Pita Sharples and Tariana Turia are said to have put their foot down over continuing agitation by Hone Harawira.

ODT

The Otago Daily Times reports that commercial and licensed activity on Conservation land in Otago and Southland accounts for more than a third of DoC's annual revenue of $18 million in concession fees.

Following a 24 hour manhunt, a man, 21, has handed himself in, in connection with an assault on a Dunedin police officer.