Thursday's headlines: Don Brash looks certain to become ACT's leader; a helicopter with two people aboard is missing; and pokie-machine spending is up for the first time in four years.
New Zealand Herald
The paper leads with the battle for the ACT Party leadership, reporting that ACT MP Hilary Calvert has switched to backing Don Brash, who therefore looks certain to become the new leader.
Rescuers were last night searching for a helicopter missing with two people on board in the Mount Aspiring National Park.
Dominion Post
A rise in pokie-machine spending for the first time in at least four years is being attributed to increased desperation in difficult times.
The paper also reports that more than 300,000 New Zealanders could be vulnerable to scams and identity theft by hackers who attacked Sony's PlayStation network.
The Press
The national state of emergency in Christchurch will be lifted within days, with Civil Defence making way for the Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority.
A United Nations survey of 8000 people in 20 countries has found the greatest fear for young New Zealanders is the prospect of living in a city apartment.
Otago Daily Times
Dunedin's daily is also reporting that Don Brash looks set to take over the ACT leadership, and that there's a search for a missing helicopter in the Southern Alps.
Two machines have forced artificial grass into the soil at Dunedin's Forsyth Barr Stadium, so the turf can be used three times more often.
