Percentage of women on Aust boards doubles

THE percentage of women on Australia's top corporate boards has more than doubled in the past four years, but is still only at 17.6 per cent.

Australian Institute of Company Directors' chief executive John Colvin said the figures showed that while progress still needs to be made, significant ground has been gained as Australian companies embrace the need for greater gender diversity on their boards and senior management.

The percentage of women on ASX200 boards more than doubled since 2010 to 17.6 per cent.

In the ASX20 the percentage of women in directorships was higher at 23.8 per cent.

The number of female chairs on ASX200 boards also doubled over the four years to five per cent.

Mr Colvin said just over four years ago Company Directors instigated a plan to increase the number of women on Australian boards.

"We felt that the proportion of women on major company boards was not good enough and needed to be increased," Mr Colvin said.

"We believed that we had to take a leadership role on this issue."

The organisation's plan to increase the number of women on Australian boards included a chairman's mentoring program and a board diversity scholarship program.

It has also encouraged companies and boards to establish a diversity policy which has measurable goals.

Mr Colvin said he was confident the improvement in females in top positions would continue without the need for quotas or other new regulation.

"The idea of mandated quotas for female representation on boards is wrong in principle, has difficulties in practice, is tokenistic and is counterproductive to the end goal of increasing board diversity," he said.

The Australian Institute of Company Directors provides education, information and advocacy for company directors Australiawide, catering for more than 34,000 members.

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UK star publicist's sex trial starts

CELEBRITY publicist Max Clifford, whose clients have included Muhammad Ali and Frank Sinatra, has gone on trial in London accused of a string of sex offences against children and young women.

Clifford used his celebrity connections to "bully and manipulate" his victims into sex acts, prosecutor Rosina Cottage told the jury on Thursday, adding that the defendant knew "how to manipulate, lie and get what he wants".

The 70-year-old is accused of 11 counts of indecent assault against seven victims, who were aged between 14 and 19 when the alleged attacks took place between 1966 and 1984.

"Many of you, but not all of you, will have heard of the name Max Clifford," Cottage said.

"He is wealthy, he is well connected. He is the maker of the kiss-and-tell celebrity and the breaker of reputations."

Clifford had been "at the top of the media game for many years" and "must have thought he was untouchable", she continued.

The publicist, who denies the charges, told journalists outside the court that the 15 months since he was first arrested had been "a very dark cloud for myself, my family and loved ones".

A string of celebrities have gone on trial for sex offences since the death of high profile BBC presenter Jimmy Savile in 2011 prompted hundreds of people to come forward with accusations that he had sexually abused them.

The publicity around the case prompted other sex abuse victims to come forward and police launched a wide-ranging investigation.

Stuart Hall, another top BBC presenter, was last year jailed for child sex abuse as a result of the inquiry, while children's entertainer Rolf Harris is due to go on trial for indecent assault in April.

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Bishop plays down China's public rebuke

FOREIGN Minister Julie Bishop has revealed she shared a delightful evening meal with her Chinese counterpart after his public rebuke last year.

Ms Bishop was upbraided by Wang Yi during a press conference in Beijing in December.

The foreign minister was criticised for "irresponsible" comments after Australia condemned China's declaration of an air-defence zone over an island chain also claimed by Japan.

He accused Australia of "jeopardising bilateral mutual trust".

Last week, Australia's top diplomat for north Asia, Peter Rowe, described the incident as the rudest display he'd seen in his 30-year career.

But Ms Bishop has played down the exchange.

"He made a very robust point, to which I responded equally robustly," she told ABC TV.

"There might have been some staging of events for the media."

Asked if it was a bullying effort by the Chinese, Ms Bishop replied: "Well it didn't work if that was the intention."

Ms Bishop said after the press conference the meeting continued for three hours and then the pair had a "delightful evening" sharing dinner together.

In the past, former foreign ministers Stephen Smith, Kevin Rudd and Bob Carr had robust discussions with the Chinese behind closed doors, Ms Bishop said.

She denied that her gender had played a role.

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Pollies to put Stevens under the spotlight

FEDERAL politicians will get the chance to tease out the Reserve Bank's current thinking on the economy and interest rates when its boss goes under the spotlight.

Governor Glenn Stevens and his top officials appear before the House Economics Committee in Sydney on Friday, the first of two public hearings held each year.

The three-hour grilling comes after a week of largely upbeat data, including strong retail spending and building approvals figures, along with the national accounts that showed the economy growing at a smarter pace of 2.8 per cent over 2013.

But in leaving the cash rate unchanged again at an all-time low of 2.5 per cent at this week's board meeting, Mr Stevens warned that unemployment could rise further, while mining investment is set to decline significantly.

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Deregulation on TV networks wish lists

MORE freedom over programming standards is on commercial television networks' wish lists as they face increased pressure from the internet.

Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull is holding talks with telecommunications and media broadcast chiefs in Sydney on Friday to discuss deregulation of the industry.

The meeting is part of the Abbott government's plan to remove $1 billion of regulation from business each year and rebuild bridges with an industry put offside by the previous Labor government.

Free TV chief Julie Flynn said in a submission to Mr Turnbull's review that commercial networks were being squeezed by twin pressures.

Revenues were under pressure from competition for advertising dollars and eyeballs from new entrants such as Google, YouTube, Netflix, Telstra and Fetch.

At the same time, broadcasters were having to invest in new content and technology.

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Experts to give verdict on direct action

KEY climate change experts are set to deliver their verdicts on the Abbott government's proposed alternative to the carbon tax - its direct action plan.

Heavyweights from the CSIRO, Clean Energy Finance Corporation and the Climate Change Authority will front a Senate committee hearing in Canberra on Friday.

Ross Garnaut, who conducted two reviews into global warming for the previous Labor government, will also give evidence.

Climate Change Authority chair Bernie Fraser says major political parties need to show more than lip service to climate change science.

"It has to be backed by policy measures commensurate with the challenges identified by climate scientists," he said in a submission to the inquiry.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Tony Abbott will deliver an address to the United Nations International Women's Day breakfast in Sydney on Friday.

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Pacific kids more depressed: NZ study

A NEW study has found relatively high levels of depression among Pacific Island children in New Zealand, particularly bullies and their victims.

The Pacific Islands Families Study, published in the latest issue of the New Zealand Medical Journal, found seven per cent of nine-year-old Pacific children showed depressive symptoms compared with the one-to-three per cent prevalence generally in children.

Depression was also associated with internalising behaviour problems and low maternal education, with better educated mothers more likely to recognise depressive symptoms and embrace health services.

Low depression scores among the 858 children surveyed were linked with their positive self-perception, physical abilities, parental and peer relationships, high verbal intelligence and high performance at school.

"Child depression manifests as feelings of sadness, loneliness, hopelessness, agitation and guilt, and is a debilitating problem than can significantly impair social and school functioning," the study authors said.

Building up self-esteem and social skills, combined with anti-bullying measures in school, were likely to reduce childhood depression, they said.

In a journal editorial, child psychiatry academics Stephanie Moor and Sally Merry, from Otago and Auckland universities respectively, say the relationship between bullying and depression is complex.

But the Christchurch Health and Development Study had previously shown that if a parent or teacher reported that a child aged seven to 12 was a bully, then as an adolescent and adult they were at risk of mental health problems including depression.

"Moreover, parental reports of their child being a victim of bullying in early teen years in this study were associated with a range of mental health problems including depression and suicidality over adolescence and adulthood."

Interventions tackling bullying at school have been shown to improve not only the health of victims but also to have economic advantages, with increased school attendance and attainment leading to better employment and earnings, Dr Moor and Dr Merry say.

* Readers seeking support and information about suicide prevention can contact Lifeline on 13 11 14 or Suicide Call Back Service 1300 659 467 or follow @LifelineAust @OntheLineAus @kidshelp @beyondblue @headspace_aus @ReachOut_AUS on Twitter.

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