Wednesday's headlines: Thousands 'trapped in a liquefied limbo-land' in Christchurch; South Auckland school teacher beaten unconscious by pupil; Southern DHB chief executive resigns.
NZ Herald
The New Zealand Herald says a new hell has dawned on thousands of people. The paper describes them as 'trapped in a liquefied limbo-land,' unable to leave Christchurch even if they wanted to.
It says the residents want out, or want answers about the future of their suburbs.
The only other story on the front page says a South Auckland school teacher was beaten unconscious by a pupil last week.
The Southern Cross pupil has been suspended pending a Board of Trustees meeting and possible police involvement.
Dominion Post
The Dominion Post leads with the death of musician Richard Giese who lay dead on the floor of his Rita Angus village apartment in Wellington for 12 days before he was discovered.
The retirement village says Mr Giese would have been checked, if he had asked for the service and paid for it.
Returning to the quake zone, the paper says Canterbury is facing a fight for its economic life.
It says the region was struggling even before the latest aftershocks, with the number of unemployed up by 18% and visitor guest nights down by 30%.
The Press
The Press reports that Monday's aftershocks have increased the probability of another earthquake of similar size or stronger hitting Canterbury in the next year.
New calculations by GNS Science show that there is now a 30% chance of a quake of between magnitude 6.0 - 6.9 from now until June next year.
And there's the story of an unusual friendship which began in Afghanistan that has been rekindled in an earthquake-ravaged Christchurch street, between a former language interpreter for the New Zealand Army in Bamiyan and a New Zealand police officer.
ODT
The Otago Daily Times says Southern District Health Board chief executive Brian Rousseau is resigning after more than eight years in the job.
A proposal to build a network of strategic cycleways through Dunedin - costing up to $30 million - has won initial support from city councillors.
