Well, it might have stopped the nation, but Australia has survived another running of the Melbourne Cup, and the usual whining and whinnying from business groups complaining about the holiday and the damage to national productivity from staff having fun — and the fun police moaning about the dangers of staff having fun and drinking, eating, betting and flirting with each other and making gooses of themselves as pictures and TV news reports again showed us.

Many of these whiners were in the exclusive areas of Flemington racecourse yesterday swilling bubbly and chowing down on nibbles on what is a work day for the rest of us. The roll call of whiners among the wealthy included Elmer Funke Kupper, the former CEO of Tabcorp and the ASX.He told The Australian earlier this year he had a plan for fixing the economy (it’s behind a paywall). It didn’t include him taking Tuesday off for the Cup, as the AFR’s Rear Window column showed in a pic on page 44.

Defence Minister Marise Payne appeared on page 45 (her government voted to cut penalty rates for Sunday workers in some industries — that’s those workers who would not cop an invitation from Tabcorp or the other big companies to the Birdcage). Small Business Minister, Michael McCormack was another with his nose in the free feed trough. He also supported the cut to penalty rates, as well as the attack on unions through the ABCC and the Registered Organisations Commission. Over on page 19 of this morning’s Oz, Federal Health Minister, Greg Hunt (he also supports the cuts to penalty rates and the attack on unions by the Abbott and Turnbull Governments) was in a pick with two mates from Tabcorp, including CEO David Attenborough.

Myer CEO Richard Umbers and his chair, Garry Hounsell were also spotted parading around their tent and guests. Alan Joyce and former Australian Worker’s Union heavy Paul Howes were also in a shot in both theOz and AFR, Bill Shorten was again snapped mixing with those Melbourne billionaires PM Turnbull referred to recently in the house. The PM himself was up was at Tamworth helping his former-Kiwi mate Barnaby Joyce get re-elected in a contest that taxpayers will again lose (as they have done with the millions paid to Joyce while he was in parliament in breach of the constitution). Of course the PM was also hiding from pesky questions from the Gallery in Canberra about citizenship, especially Mr Bennelong, John Alexander. Another John Alexander — James Packer’s pet chairman at Crown Resorts, was sighted on a day off from cutting staff and other costs at the struggling casino group.

Barney is another who supports penalty rate cuts and has helped lead the attack on unions, such as the AWU and the CFMEU. And the rent-a-guests, Foreign Minister Julie Bishop and partner, starred in the Birdcage after being photographed wearing an unidentifed flying object on her head on Derby Day last Saturday. The Australian‘s CEO, Nick Gray was mentioned in the Oz’s column — we must remember that when we next read a lecture on improving national productivity from the paper’s assembled cast of galahs. Another hack from News Corp central sighted and mentioned was Angelos Frangopolous, head of Australia’s answer to Fox News, Sky News.

Right wing wonder Senator James Patterson, a product of the conservative Institute of Public Affairs (where productivity has gone to the dogs and all unions are bastards), was noted in attendance yesterday by the Oz. And while it was a holiday in the deep south yesterday it wasn’t in Canberra and the rest of Australia.

With so many federal pollies in attendance, reading updates on their registers of rorts and other lurks should be a hoot. How many managed to make it to Melbourne for “important meetings”?