Friday, 28 August 2026

 Lizzie BLANDTHORN (Western Metropolitan – Minister for Children, Minister for Disability) (12:29): I rise to update the house on the Carroll Labor government’s support for toy libraries through our latest round of grants. Last week I was delighted to visit the Darebin Toy Library in Northcote alongside the member for Preston Nathan Lambert and the member for Northcote Kat Theophanous to celebrate their grant. Through these grants we have invested another $360,000 into toy libraries across Victoria. This includes supporting another 46 toy libraries with grants of up to $10,000 to buy new toys, attract new members and streamline lending, ensuring that these services can support as many families as possible.

This funding will also support the establishment of two new toy libraries, one in Ballarat and one in Wallan East. Ballarat and District Aboriginal Co-operative, BADAC, will open a toy library at Yirram Burron early learning in Sebastopol as well as operate a mobile service for families, and Kids First Wallan East kindergarten will also open a toy library in central Wallan. By supporting communities with new toy libraries, we are ensuring that more families are able to benefit from the cost-of-living support that they provide, and we are supporting the learning and development of our youngest Victorians.

Visiting the Darebin service was a wonderful opportunity to meet with staff from the City of Darebin, as well as Toy Libraries Australia, who provide fantastic support to toy libraries across Victoria. As someone who has previously volunteered at a toy library service, I know firsthand how important these services are, and it seems I am not the only one. Those opposite are happy to use toy libraries, they are happy to join toy libraries, they are even happy to take the credit when Labor funds them, but when those opposite have had the opportunity to actually fund toy libraries, suddenly playtime is over, because the last time those opposite were in government they failed to invest in these types of supports.

Evan Mulholland: On a point of order, President, we have been here before: ministers statements are not an opportunity to attack the opposition.

The PRESIDENT: All it says is that a minister may make a statement. It does not determine what statement they make.

Lizzie BLANDTHORN: While our government supports playtime, those opposite slash it. They slashed $1 billion from education. Labor’s $1.9 million toy library grants program has delivered nine new toy libraries and supported more than 100 existing services to buy thousands of new toys. It is only a Labor government that supports these essential initiatives.