Another Reserve Bank blow, a tense government and a Big Farmer triumph as the Agriculture Department's finances go to custard

Welcome to another instalment of ABC Politics. A woman's place is in The House It's been a weird, scrabbly week in the nation's capital, in which the government's election commitments to ease hip-pocket pressures on ordinary Australians diverge from its responsibility to keep the economy alive in a deeply-uncomfortable-bordering-on-sickening manner that puts one in mind of this immortal Jean-Claude van Damme video: Loading YouTube content Before we go there, however, let's give a shout-out to the ladies. Wednesday was the first International Women's Day celebrated by the 47th parliament which, as a result of its colour-scheme rethink last May, now boasts more women than at any time in the history of Federation: the House of Representatives is 38 per cent female while the Senate — at 57 per cent — is more feminised than the retail trade sector. A senior ABC presenter was obliged this week to defend herself after a torrent of misogynist hate on social media arising from her choice of skirt, in what somehow became the number one wardrobe-related national controversy even though this also happened: Sam Mostyn, chair of the Women's Gender Equality Task Force, told the National Press Club that gender inequality was "now a brake on our economy and our progress as a country". Loading The age of Big Farmer The ABC's Kath Sullivan — Australia's standout national rural reporter — had an intriguing couple of stories this week.