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The federal government has turned its back on Northern Territory families struggling to find childcare places, the NT government says.
Family and Community Services Minister Delia Lawrie disputed commonwealth claims there were vacancies in the territory, calling them a "slap in the face" for desperate families unable to find care for their children.
"An audit last year of childcare waiting lists showed that there are around 2,000 families on waiting lists unable to get their children into care," she said.
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Ms Lawrie said the massive shortages were placing a major burden, both financially and socially, on territory families.
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Louise de Bomford, from the Mitchell Street Child Care Centre in Darwin, said supply did not meet demand.
"We have 200 wait-listed and a 12-month wait and I have had people calling this week saying there are 1,070 vacancies, this is simply not the case," she said.
"Stop treating childcare as a business, it is an essential service."
- reprinted from the Sydney Morning Herald