Wednesday's papers: previews of National's tax cut policy; maternity reforms of the 1990'sseen as making childbirth less safe; "man drought" declared on Kapiti Coast.
NZ Herald
The New Zealand Herald leads with calls from economists for the Reserve Bank to follow Australia and cut interest rates by 1%. The move is seen as necessary to help bolster the economy through difficult times.
Further details are revealed about how National plans to stick to its pledge to offer tax cuts of $50 a week despite the Government's books going into the red.
The paper says the cuts will still be offered to those on middle incomes while taxpayers in higher income brackets might have to accept a smaller cut.
Dominion Post
The Dominion Post also previews National's amended tax cuts policy.
The clean-up begins after gale-force winds battered the lower North Island. A woman's body has been recovered after she was swept away on a swollen stream in Egmont National Park.
Kapiti Coast women: lock up your men. The region has been declared the "man drought capital" of New Zealand. The area has only 89 men for every 100 women.
The Press
The Press also covers National's decision to scale back its tax cuts policy.
A book by Christchurch GP, Lynda Exton says the maternity reforms of the 1990's have made childbirth less safe. She says women are more likely to die from childbirth than at any time in the past three decades.
And Starbucks is reducing the amount of drinking water its outletes waste by having a tap constantly running. It's estimated the wasted water could fill 230 swimming pools a year.
ODT
The Otago Daily Times features two good Samaritans who are urging others to consider their own safety before performing CPR on strangers. They helped at the scene of a fatal accident and later learnt the victim had hepatitis C.
The paper also reports on the death of Dunedin ecologist Diane Campbell-Hunt who was swept to her death as she tried to cross a stream in the Egmont National Park.
