Friday's papers: Another blowout at ACC; lower Official Cash Rate won't cushion impact of the international financial crisis; Otago DHB faces deficit of more than $13 million.
NZ Herald
The New Zealand Herald advises readers not to expect the lowering of the Official Cash Rate to cushion the impact of the international financial crisis.
A banking expert tells the paper that Thursday's rate cut by the Reserve Bank will reduce mortgage payments and perhaps boost short term business confidence, but those effects "will not necessarily be huge".
A second ACC blowout could hit wage earners in the pocket: ACC Minister Nick Smith has revealed that officials want to increase levies on workers to cover a $1.3 billion shortfall in the earners' account over the next three years.
Dominion Post
The Dominion Post says home loan interest rates are being slashed to their lowest levels in four years, but savers are facing a hefty cut on deposit rates. The paper talks to a variety of homeowners about the impact of the cuts.
An 'affluence survey' shows that Wellington has New Zealand's richest and smartest residents. Wellington has the most households earning more than $100,000 per year and the highest percentage of residents with a university degree.
The Press
The Press says the cut by the Reserve Bank is designed to help the economy cope with a "serious storm" next year.
Canterbury Employers' Chamber of Commerce chief executive Peter Townsend is quoted as expecting some major impacts on employment after Christmas.
Fears have been raised that the $35 million Canterbury landfill at Kate Valley may be unsafe. Reports on a private test well sunk 500 metres from the landfill shows the land is unstable and fractured. It also may have active faultlines.
ODT
The Otago Daily Times leads with the district health board's final meeting of the year.
Chairman Richard Thomson told the meeting that 'no knight on a white horse' would be galloping over the horizon to solve the board's financial problems. The board faces an expected annual deficit of more than $13 million.
