Thursday's headlines: Bodies being returned to grieving families because crematoriums cannot operate; gas pipeline safety questioned; Dunedin wants a Rugby World Cup parade too.
NZ Herald
The New Zealand Herald outlines how a gang of international conmen posed as Rugby World Cup sponsors to steal tickets and scalp them thousands of dollars.
Bodies are being returned to grieving families after funerals because crematoriums cannot operate due to the closure of the gas pipeline.
Labour has revealed it won't hold a campaign launch or feature leader Phil Goff on its billboards this election.
Waikato Times
The Waikato Times headlines the milk crisis as the northern dairy industry faces its second day without gas.
The paper also questions the safety of the 30-year-old Maui pipeline, with neighbours saying recent rain and slumps in the ground may be behind the failure.
Dominion Post
The Dominion Post reports an unusual legal case of a young woman who has escaped serious penalty for her part in a suicide pact.
Her defence lawyer says it was only the second time in about 50 years that someone facing the charge has lived to see sentencing.
Coverage of the World Cup parade in Wellington on Wednesday dominates the paper.
It features some of the thousands of banners, many fans were school pupils, with one young woman pictured with a sign proclaiming 'I wagged 4 Dagg'.
The Press
The Press reports the City Mall Restart project is being threatened with legal action after accusations it copied a pop-up mall in London.
The paper says the threat could not have come at worse time for organisers, with City Mall scheduled to reopen on Saturday, featuring 60 shipping containers converted into 27 shops.
Brendan Burns MP says ChristChurch Cathedral leaders should be more open about the future of the badly damaged building and whether it will have to be demolished.
And a conman dubbed 'the modern Artful Dodger' has been duping New Zealand women looking for romance online.
The man, who will be sentenced in Christchurch next month, is charged with dishonesty offences involving four women and tens of thousands of dollars from dating websites.
ODT
Top story in The Otago Daily Times says Dunedin City Council budgets are again under the microscope, as officers try to bridge a looming shortfall of almost 12%.
More evidence has been heard in the case of a man charged with attempting to murder his mother, 85, with an overdose of morphine.
And pressure continues for Dunedin to get a Rugby World Cup parade of its own.