Radio New Zealand - Te Reo Irirangi o Aotearoa

Increased airline security checks; holiday traffic misery; electricity sector review; Dunedin welcomes 5,000 cruise-ship visitors.

NZ Herald

Airline passengers travelling to the United States face increased security checks after an attack on a flight from Amsterdam to Detroit on Christmas Day, the paper reports. In addition to the usual customs, immigration and security controls, travellers must go through another series of checks.

Dominion Post

Holiday traffic is crawling out of Wellington due to bad weather, crashes, and the sheer volume of vehicles on the road.

The front page of the Dominion Post is dominated by a picture of a large white sow, Piggy Sue, who was rescued from a piggery and now lives in an Upper Hutt animal sanctuary.

The Press

A Government review of the electricity sector is threatening Meridian Energy's green reputation, the paper says. The review, requested by Energy Minister Gerry Brownlee, wants to strip Meridian of two hydro power stations and give them to North Island state-owned enterprise, Genesis Energy.

Otago Daily Times

About 5,000 cruise-ship visitors flocked to Dunedin at the weekend. Three ships arrived during the city's biggest cruise ship weekend this summer.

Throngs of local shoppers took advantage of Boxing Day sales, some queuing outside stores even before they opened. The first bargain hunter arrived at Michael Hill Jeweller at 5am.