Thursday's papers: instant pay rise for new Cabinet ministers and MPs; DoC worker believed lost; disabled shoppers clamped at mall despite displaying mobility stickers; haka and heartbreak in Limerick.
NZ Herald
The New Zealand Herald says newly sworn-in Cabinet ministers and MPs are set for an instant pay rise - which is likely to take the annual salary of Prime Minister John Key to almost $400,000. The increase is scheduled to be made public on Thursday by the independent Remuneration Authority.
And there's the story of inventor Ryan Nicholls, aged nine, who has found a way of turning food scraps into garden fertiliser. He has probably become New Zealand's youngest patent applicant in the process.
Dominion Post
The headline in The Dominion Post reads "John Key's first crisis": it says the Prime Minister emerged from his first Cabinet meeting to the "brutal reality of life at the top" as Air New Zealand announced that the deepening recession would cost hundreds of jobs.
The police inspector who led an inquiry into complaints of disciplinary breaches by Clint Rickards feels deceived after disclosures that the former officer left the force with a $300,000 payout.
And it was haka and heartbreak in Limerick as the men of Munster went down 18-16 to the All Blacks. Munster's New Zealand players are pictured performing their own challenge to the visitors.
The Press
The Press leads with an investigation into a series of wheel clamping confrontations at the Eastgate Mall.
Three disabled shoppers have been clamped at the mall despite displaying mobility stickers - a move that's caused anger and concern amongst the disabled community.
ODT
The Otago Daily Times also leads with salaries for MPs and says the rise could be about 4% - 5%. The paper says the pay rise comes in tough economic circumstances and is likely to be put under the microscope as the new Government looks for places to trim spending.
Fears were mounting on Wednesday night for a Department of Conservation worker believed lost in the Macraes mine area, near Middlemarch. The man was setting traps for DoC.
