It was inevitable the Chanticleer brunch hosted in Melbourne by The Australian Financial Review, the nation’s business newspaper that’s based in Sydney, reverted to the age-old rivalry between the country’s two largest cities.

Melbourne has been the spiritual home of Chanticleer since the column was founded by Robert Gottliebsen in 1974 and a who’s who from the city’s corporate scene turned out to Crown for Friday’s event ahead of Derby Day. The line-up included Coles CEO Leah Weckert who underlined the need for corporate profits to drive jobs and growth, taking up the baton after Wesfarmers chairman Michael Chaney this week told politicians of all sides to lay off big business.