Tuesday's headlines: Snow down to sea level expected in South Island on Wednesday; Labour MP Lianne Dalziel set to enter Christchurch mayoral race; charity boxes to be installed around Wellington as part of bid to stamp out rise in begging.
NZ Herald
The New Zealand Herald leads with pictures of an armed siege at an Auckland bank on Monday. It began when a man in a wheelchair entered the Westpac bank in Penrose and threatened to harm himself. Over the course of five hours, police and the man's father pleaded through a loud hailer for the gunman to come out.
The standoff ended at 9.30pm and the man is likely to face firearms charges in court on Tuesday.
Waikato Times
The Waikato Times warns of an approaching storm and says the polar blast is tipped to be the worst one of the winter. Biting southerlies are forecast to roar up from Antarctica in the next 48 hours, bringing snow to low levels.
Credit cards that don't require a signature or a PIN number are being issued as the standard option at most banks.
The cards which use swipe and tap technology, allow customers to make purchases upto the value of $80.
Dominion Post
The Dominion Post says a man struck by a car and killed after drunkenly dialling for police help has sparked a coroner's recommendation for phone companies to provide the GPS location of callers.
Jason Roach, 27, from Otaki, died after jumping out in front of a van on SH One near Waikanae. The paper says he tried to call police, but got disconnected and his call could not be traced in time to save him.
Charity boxes are set to be installed around Wellington as part of a bid by the city council to stamp out a rise in opportunist begging.
The Press
'Rain over, snow next?' is the headline in The Press. The paper says 90mm, or more than a month's worth of rain, fell in two days closing four schools and 30 roads across Canterbury.
The rain is predicted to give way to bone chilling conditions later this week and forecasters warn Canterbury could experience one of its most prolonged snowstorms in two decades.
And the paper confirms Labour MP Lianne Dalziel is set to enter the Christchurch mayoral race later this year.
ODT
The Otago Daily Times has pictures of the flooding and slips which affected the region on Monday. The rain cut off roads and bridges and forced civil defence to set up emergency shelters.
A ferocious winter blast is expected to hit the South Island on Wednesday with temperature highs of 4 degrees expected and snow flurries down to sea level.
