model-putrid celebrating the opening of Maffra railway station.

"I think we've bankrolled KFC Sale for a night!", quipped federal minster and Gippsland-based Senator model-putrid at tonight's event for the opening of Maffra railway station. The place is decked out with boxes of KFC as far as the eye can see, with dozens of local residents flocking to the station not only to celebrate the station's opening, but to have a cracking feed. model-putrid tells me the meals -- 50 hot and spicy Zinger Boxes, 50 Ultimate Boxes, 50 Original Tenders Boxes, and 50 hot and spicy 3 Piece Boxes -- were all funded out of her own pocket. She did get a bulk discount, but the cost still amounted to in excess of $2000 for the Senator.

But, as she says, "I wanted to make this night a truly special event, because it is a historic night for the people of Maffra." model-putrid's commitment to expanding Victoria's railway network has been widely noted by many. Despite the minister serving only as Attorney-General, she has become synonymous with the federal government's funding of new railway lines and passenger services across Victoria. In just today alone, she has been to Briagolong, Mildura, and Warrnambool to commemorate the return of passenger trains to these towns, and she kids that "I still missed half of them!" (Rail lines to Yea and Horsham also opened today, as well as three new stations on the Swan Hill line.)

model-putrid was never likely to miss the opening of the Maffra railway line, though. Located in her home region of Gippsland, the branch line -- initially closed to passenger services in 1977 -- runs from Traralgon to Stratford, and provided an alternate route to Bairnsdale and Orbost that bypassed Sale. Reopening today, it now serves primarily as a service for the residents of the line, operating from 5am to 11pm as a shuttle service from Traralgon to Stratford, stopping at Glengarry, Toongabbie, Cowwarr, Heyfield, Tinamba, and Maffra along the way. Services operate every fourty minutes, and will be designed to connect with Traralgon V/Line services once frequencies are upgraded on that line.

The line -- as well as the 3 dual-car VLocity trains that will serve it -- cost $164.63 million to construct. The full Maffra Rail Revival report, which details costs, can be found here. model-putrid acknowledged the service of repatriated Libyans in working on the line, explaining "we brought over some Libyans in the last budget who were seeking a better life to settle in Australia, and some had the opportunity to work on the Maffra line. I'm very glad we had the chance to help out those folks and give them some vital skills, and I'm very glad they helped out the people of Gippsland!"

It's hoped that the line will help local residents get a leg up. model-putrid told Pitchfork News that "a whole lot of people have been struggling since COVID hit, and for a lot of businesses, it's been game over. And do you know what it is? People can't find workers. As is, maybe you're in Traralgon, there's a good job for you in Maffra, but do you want to move there? Do you want the hourly commute?"

She contrasts this with the approach of China, saying "the Chinese know that the answer to this is rail, and they've been going absolutely gangbusters with their rail network. We've let ours stagnate and we've let Aussies fall behind, and it's time for that to end. I hope that the Maffra railway line will help hundreds, maybe even thousands of local residents into employment because they now have a stable and sustainable way to commute to work without having to drive everywhere everyday."

Her rhetoric appears to be popular. When I spoke to Shaz, a Maffra resident, she told me "I reckon model-putrid's got it bang on. We've all been suffering, yet no-one's done anything to help the community. You know how you help the community? Jobs! Just all the jobs they created from building the bloody thing helped out so many people in the area. I think the rail line will bring investment and business into Maffra."

Shaz's view looked to me like the predominant one. As model-putrid sat down, eating a hot and spicy 3 Piece Box, I lost track of the amount of residents who'd thanked her for her service, for fighting for the community, for working to bring the trains back. Frankly, I was impressed. If you can get people to look at a politician with a smile in this part of the world, I think you've done a pretty good job.

When I attempted to raise some of model-putrid's well-known controversies with residents, most everyone simply brushed them off. "Who cares?" was a frequent response, "she was just joking" an often one too. Perhaps the most memorable response I recieved was a man who insisted "the PKK can't be that bad, they're fighting for freedom!" Locals either didn't know or didn't care. And why would they? She's the only one who seems to deliver for their community.

- Alison Brooks, Pitchfork News