18 Jul 2012

Morning Report: local papers

6:59 am on 18 July 2012

Wednesday's headlines: 21 sets of twins born in past six weeks in Canterbury; forestry companies want the Government to abandon the Kyoto Protocol; Christchurch City Council not giving up on dream of light rail.

NZ Herald

The New Zealand Herald leads with details about the last hours Auckland model Iraena Asher was seen alive. Ms Asher disappeared from Piha in October 2004. On what should have been her 33rd birthday on Tuesday, the first day of an inquest into her death opened instead. The coroner heard Ms Asher was last seen standing naked under a street light before vanishing into a stormy night.

Waikato Times

The Waikato Times reports Newmont's Waihi mines are closed and investigations are underway after a fire threatened the lives of 28 workers on Tuesday and sparked a seven-hour rescue effort.

Mine officials say a truck that caught fire causing the evacuation will not be approached for at least 24 hours, for fears its tyres could explode throwing out debris.

The paper also reports on the planned creation of a new housing development at Frankton, where housefronts - not garages - will overlook the street, acting as a deterrent to burglars. Developer Andrew Yeoman says the garages for the 33 homes will be tucked away in service lanes.

Dominion Post

Under the headline 'Bad blood', The Dominion Post reports on a bitter family fued. A dispute over a Levin farming couple's estate involved accusations of a vindictive personal vendetta, lavish spending on unusual hobbies and a mother's perceived prejudice against her adopted children.

And Social Development Minister Paula Bennett has been urged to visit a caravan park she complained was unfairly hiking rents for substandard accommodation.

The Press

The Press says Christchurch City Council is not giving up on its dream of introducing light rail.

It has included the possibility of introducing a rapid-transit system in its draft transport plan despite earlier getting a lukewarm response this year from the Government to a proposed light-rail connection between the central city and Canterbury University.

And under headline 'it's a twin-demic' the paper says Canterbury women have given birth to 21 sets of twins in the past six weeks.

ODT

The Otago Daily Times reports that forestry companies want the Government to abandon the Kyoto Protocol, rather than commit to revised rules it fears could lumber them with massive additional costs.

And Zoe Merzedes, a patient at Dunedin's specialist neurosurgery, tells the paper she has never been treated 'so beautifully'.