'Living hell' for parents of missing toddler Aisling Symes; Christchurch Arts Festival understood to be seeking a rescue package; tributes flow for Ladyhawke who won six music award titles.
NZ Herald
The tears of Aisling Symes' mother spoke more than words ever could, the paper says. Angela Symes and husband Alan stepped into the spotlight at Henderson police station yesterday, appealing to whoever took two-year-old Aisling from them on Monday night.
The Herald carries a comment piece on the success, or lack of it, of the Orewa-Puhoi motorway toll.
The High Court has ordered Westpac to pay almost $1 billion in back taxes to Inland Revenue - nearly twice the bank's net profit last year.
Dominion Post
The paper describes a 'living hell' for Alan and Angela Symes and says fearful Auckland parents are keeping their children close as the hunt for Aisling enters its fifth day.
Also on the Dominion Post front page, tributes flow for Ladyhawke, the singer songwriter from Masterton who is now the queen of music, with six titles at the New Zealand awards on Thursday night.
The Press
The Government is considering a ban on the main ingredient in many cold and flu medications in a bid to crack down on the manufacture of the drug P. This could follow on from Thursday's decision to make products containing pseudoephedrine prescription only.
The Court of Appeal has endorsed unprecedented life sentences for two Chinese "P" smugglers involved in a $138 million operation between China and Auckland, The Press reports.
Uncertainty surrounds the future of New Zealand's largest regional arts festival, with the Christchurch Arts Festival understood to be seeking a public rescue package after significant losses.
Otago Daily Times
The ODT leads with criticism of the government's decision on pseudoephedrine. University of Otago pharmacy lecturer Rhiannon Braund says the move only transfers the problem of P manufacture.
Following an official information request by the paper, it's been discovered that all 8,500 prisoners in the New Zealand prison system eat halal-certified meat despite only 82 of them identifying as Muslim.