News in 5: Star says actresses 'offer sex'; Aussies urged to donate blood; PM's new cabinet.

1. Actor Sir Ian McKellen says women have used sex to land movie roles, contributing to Hollywood’s harassment culture.

In an unfortunate take on the #MeToo movement, actor Sir Ian McKellen has said women in the past have used sex to land roles and therefore contributed to the Weinstein-esque culture permeating Hollywood today.

Speaking at the Oxford Union, the 78-year-old veteran actor, known for his work in the Lord of The Rings and X-Men films, said women in the 1960s would often offer to have sex with a director in exchange for a part.

"When I was starting acting in the early 60s, the director of the theatre I was working at showed me some photographs he got from women who were wanting jobs," he told the audience.

"Some of them had at the bottom of their photograph 'DRR' — meaning 'directors' rights respected'.

"In other words, 'If you give me a job, you can have sex with me'."

EW reports he then said it was "madness" that a woman who would go to such lengths could claim to be a victim of sexual assault.

The actor did, however, applaud victims for coming forward to speak about their experiences with sexual harassment.

"It's sometimes very difficult for victims to do that," he said.

"I hope we're going through a period that will help to eradicate it altogether.

"I assume nothing but good will come out of these revelations, even though some people get wrongly accused — there's that side of it as well."

As an openly gay actor, McKellen also referenced the allegations against Kevin Spacey, calling the way the actor chose to come out "reprehensible".

"It linked alleged underage sex with a declaration of sexuality," he said.

Twitter responded in anger to the actor's comments, suggesting he was "turning the blame on women".

"Turning blame onto women who were most likely encouraged by their management that the only way to get roles was to sleep with a director is still shitty?" one user wrote.

"Sir Ian McKellen doesn't know the difference between consent, coercion and rape," another said.

Others claimed that the star's comments had been "taken out of context".

2. Donations flow for NSW woman who was scalped in a horrific shearing accident.

It started just like any other day at the woolshed where Casey Barnes, from Gilgandra in NSW, worked.

But as she was packing freshly-shorn fleeces to make more room on November 29, her long, curly hair - tied up in a bun as she worked - became caught in an electric motor above her.

The motor, which has a belt that drives a shaft to run a shearer's shears, ripped Casey's scalp from her head, releasing just above her eyes and ears.

Casey's brother and her boyfriend, who were working with Casey in the shed, watched in horror as the accident occurred.

Casey was flown straight to a Sydney hospital where she underwent 20 hours of surgery to repair the damage. She was placed in an induced coma to limit her head movement.

Despite undergoing a number of surgeries to repair her injuries, her scalp was unable to be saved as it died and would not reattach to her head. Casey is now preparing for surgery to have artificial skin attached to her scalp instead.

Family and friends have set up of a GoFundMe page to help Casey during her recovery. Being a shearer, an occupation that comes with no annual or sick leave, if she doesn't work, she doesn't get paid.

"As a shearer and a roustabout, not only is it bloody hard work but if it rains you don't get paid,” the sister of Casey’s boyfriend wrote on the page.

"You don't work, you don't get paid."

"I have started this page to ask for your support to help these two to make this incredibly [tough] time they have ahead of them a little less stressful financially.

"The money raised will be used for accommodation, food and travel expenses while family are needing to be based at Sydney to be with our beautiful, brave, happy go lucky, giggly Casey."

The page was attempting to raise $20,000 for Casey and her family but has already exceeded it's goal.

3. Australians are being urged to donate blood this Christmas season, with supplies at risk of running critically low.

Australians are being urged to give blood this Christmas, with supplies at risk of running critically low, AAP reports.

With many regular blood donors taking a break over the festive season, the Australian Red Cross Blood Service is in desperate need of 4000 donors.

At particular risk are supplies of platelets - the clotting component of blood that is largely relied on by cancer patients to prevent internal bleeding.

Platelets only have a shelf life of five days, so a constant flow of donors is required, even during holiday times.

"The period between Christmas and the New Year is when platelet stocks are most at risk," warned Blood Service spokeswoman Jemma Falkenmire.

"Cancer patients are the biggest users of donated blood in Australia; it's critical to helping them through chemotherapy," Ms Falkenmire said.

"With one in three of us needing donated blood in our lifetime, the life you help save this festive season could even be that of a loved one."

People are being urged to make an appointment to give blood between Boxing Day and New Year's Eve.

To learn more about becoming a donor this Christmas and New Year visit donateblood.com.au or call 13 14 95.

4. Malcolm Turnbull has been slammed for the 'pathetic' representation of women in his latest cabinet reshuffle.

The Prime Minister has been branded as 'pathetic' after unveiling a new-look cabinet in which female MPs were still woefully misrepresented.

Turnbull announced the reshuffle on Tuesday, adding several fresh faces to his ministry including a handful of frontbench appointments, in what is expected to be the last cabinet shake-up before the 2019 election, AAP reports.

In his announcement, Turnbull named just one extra woman - Victorian senator Bridget McKenzie, Minister for Sport, Rural Health & Regional Communications - to the cabinet, bringing the total number of women to five.

McKenzie joins Foreign Minister Julie Bishop, Senator Michaela Cash who was revealed as the Minister for Jobs and Innovation, Kelly O’Dwyer, who is currently Financial Services Minister, and will take on the role of Minister for Women; and Defence Minister Marise Payne.

The number is one less than the start of 2017, after health minister Sussan Ley was replaced by Greg Hunt after an expenses scandal.

About one third of Turnbull's government ministry are made up of women, but only five of the 21 seats in the PM's cabinet are occupied by females.

Mr Turnbull said the ministry showcased the depth of the Liberal and National team, with young and upcoming MPs bringing new skills and energy to the frontbench.

Opposition Leader Bill Shorten criticised the reshuffle, saying it revealed the coalition had a "women's problem" after overall female representation in cabinet did not increase.

Governor-General Peter Cosgrove will swear in the new ministers at a ceremony in Canberra on Wednesday.

5. Doctors are pushing to ban the term 'obese'. But the Australian Medical Association says the idea is "crazy".

The president of the Australian Medical Association has dismissed a push for doctors to stop using the word "obese" as a "crazy" idea.

New guidelines from NSW Health instruct doctors to use positive language when discussing the weight of their patients.

The guidelines encourage doctors to stop using words like "skinny" and "morbidly obese".

NSW Health's Executive Director Centre for Population Health Jo Mitchell told News Corp that such terms can be stigmatising for overweight adults and children.

Instead terms such as "well above a healthy weight" should be spoken by doctors, according to the guidelines.

The term obese is based on Body Mass Index - a physical measurement used to assess a person's total amount of body fat. It is calculated by dividing weight in kilograms by the square of your height in metres.

AMA President Dr Michael Gannon says obese is a useful medical term, although acknowledged it isn't perfect.

"It doesn't take into account the fact that people with significant muscle mass might be called obese and they're actually probably in a fairly healthy situation. But overall, it's a useful metric," Dr Gannon told Macquarie Radio Network on Tuesday.

Dr Gannon, however, did say there is a need for doctors to be sensitive when dealing with patients battling weight issues.

"I think the use of the word 'fat' is a bit outdated. We don't want people to get upset in their interactions with doctors, but practising medicine's not a popularity contest," he said.

"You have to give uncomfortable news to patients, you have to come up with treatment or management plans they're not necessarily happy about, and this directive flies in the face of common sense."

6. It turns out marriage really does make you happy, and there's research to prove it.

A new study suggests that marriage can, in fact, make you happier, with research finding that it can even double a person's contentment levels.

According to The Daily Mail, researchers from the Vancouver School of Economics used data collected from two UK surveys to determine whether being married has any effect on a person's overall happiness.

The analysis of the surveys - which had around 350,000 participants - found that married people appeared to be more satisfied with life than those that were single. The same applied to couples who were living together, but not necessarily married.

"Even after years the married are still more satisfied," co-author of the study, Professor John Halliwell, said.

"This suggests a causal effect at all stages of the marriage, from pre-nuptial bliss to marriages of long-duration.

"Marriage may help ease the causes of a mid-life dip in life satisfaction and the benefits of marriage are unlikely to be short-lived."

The benefits of being married are increased for those who refer to their partner or spouse as their "best friend".

"These benefits are on average about twice as large for people whose spouse is also their best friend," Professor Halliwell found.