Wednesday's headlines: Budget message - hard times ahead; buyers shunning homes in eastern Christchurch; more drivers being caught speeding.
NZ Herald
The New Zealand Herald leads with the fatal poisoning of a baby in Morrinsville.
There's a large photo of Ilisapeti, aged seven months, and a story in which her young mother speaks of the horror at learning her young son may have given the baby a fatal dose of a relative's heart medication.
The only other story on the front page says five teachers have been banned from the profession this year after being caught sexually abusing children.
The Herald says the children involved were aged between seven and 16.
Dominion Post
The Dominion Post says more drivers are being caught speeding, but police are pulling over fewer people.
Figures obtained by the paper under the Official Information Act show that the increase is due mostly to the rise in the number of speed cameras.
But the front page is dominated by coverage of a concert by Katy Perry in Wellington.
Alongside a montage of photos, the story says the 'candyfloss queen' of pop music left her fans screaming for more.
The Press
The Press reports that buyers are shunning homes in eastern Christchurch as the effects of the earthquakes split the housing market.
Sales in the hardest-hit suburbs have slowed to a trickle, with so few recorded that Quotable Value has been unable to measure trends.
A 40 tonne boulder on the Port Hills is pictured being blown up as work continues on stabilising rock faces.
ODT
The Otago Daily Times says New Zealanders should prepare themselves for some hard times, with next week's Budget likely to be the precursor of worse to come.
The paper's political editor says the Government is unlikely to lift taxes next Thursday, but will cut spending, as already demonstrated by its restructuring of the public service and announcement of a zero Budget.
Some Green Island residents fear the clear-felling of trees planted 29 years ago on slip-prone land above their homes, will result in another landslip.
