Budget will tighten student loan rules; lack of priests may mean school closures; daughter dobs in mother.
NZ Herald
The paper explores cuts to funding for tertiary education, expected in this week's Budget, saying savings will include tightening eligibility for student loans for over 55s.
Heavy rain, thunderstorms, gales and snow are forecast to make the next few days miserable for just about everybody, the MetService has warned.
Rescuers are pictured dragging an elderly woman from her car after it slid from a wet road and plunged into a fast flowing creek near Whenuapai in northwest Auckland.
Dominion Post
The bell may be tolling for some lower North Island schools and churches, as a nationwide shortage of priests forces the Catholic Archbishop of Wellington to consider their closure.
A Tongan Navy mission to "rescue" a rebellious Fijian soldier accused of plotting the overthrow of Frank Bainimarama has plunged the South Pacific into crisis, the paper says.
The Press
More than 10,000 people have put forward their ideas for a reborn Christchurch, with mayor Bob Parker saying it's just the start. Cantabrians swamped the weekend's Share an Idea Expo to help rebuild a shattered city.
Suburban parties are said to have gone 'crazy' over the weekend, with rocks thrown at police and scores of people arrested across Christchurch.
Otago Daily Times
Police are describing an 18-year-old who dobbed in her allegedly drink-driving mother as a "life-saver". The young woman was being driven by her mother from Alexandra to Roxburgh on Friday night when she became concerned about her mother's level of intoxication.
Some Otago vehicle owners may be pretending to drive ambulances to get hundreds of dollars off the cost of their registrations. Figures released by the New Zealand Transport Agency show there are 230 registered ambulances in Otago - but officials don't believe the number is correct.
