Wednesday, 23 September 2026

 Lizzie BLANDTHORN (Western Metropolitan – Minister for Children, Minister for Disability) (12:08): I rise to update the house on how the Carroll Labor government is continuing to support toy libraries with grants to purchase new toys and attract new members. Last week I joined the member for Sunbury for a visit to the Toy Well library in Tullamarine and the Sunbury Toy Library. Both have recently received grants from our government through the $1.9 million toy library grants program. Toy libraries and their volunteers support families in a number of ways, including sourcing the right toys and tools for children, putting links in the community together and creating spaces for families to come together. To borrow a phrase from my visit, it is about the fun of playing.

Toy libraries also provide the kind of community-based capacity-building support that is central to thriving kids and supporting children of all abilities to grow and learn through play. While at Sunbury Toy Library, Kirsten and the team spoke to me about the important role that sensory toys play in a child’s development, and we had the chance to test out a Hoberman sphere. It is great for regulating emotions. In other words, it helps with staying calm when things do not go quite according to plan. Those opposite might like a demonstration: we breathe in and out, in and out –

Evan Mulholland: On a point of order, President, that is quite clearly a prop.

The PRESIDENT: Yes, it is a prop. I ask the minister if she can breathe in and out without assistance.

Lizzie BLANDTHORN: I can, but sometimes I am just not sure that those opposite can. There are a few lessons to learn. One is sharing is caring: we do not just snatch, take or rip away; we think about others. Lesson 2: how to play nicely with our friends. I am told this one can still be learned at any age. Lesson 3, which those opposite will need to keep in mind for November: you do not always get the toy that you want. Toy libraries teach children to share, to take turns and to regulate their emotions and feelings, and they are important skills to learn in childhood and throughout life. But as I am frequently reminded by those opposite, not everyone masters them the first time around.