Wagga parents left feeling 'hopeless' as wait for childcare spots reach 'disheartening' levels

The worst part is Miss Duddy, 29, recently moved from Junee to Wagga to be closer to her work, but despite more than a year of searching she simply can't find any places for her 13-month-old daughter Anabelle.

"The reason I got into the family daycare centre was because a friend of mine, who is in defence, moved and I took her spot. It was kind of a who you know situation because I knew the girl that was leaving," she said.

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"I thought that it was pretty sad that when I was living in Junee I couldn't even get a place in Junee because there were so many kids there from Wagga.

"I spoke to the daycare centres, they said I'm not alone. There's a lot of people that are dropping their kids to Junee and then back for work."

The veterinarian said she has been knocked back by a number of childcare centres in Wagga and is currently on the waitlist for one centre.

The lack of options has been tough for Miss Duddy and as a recent graduate and a working single mother, she feels guilt for not staying home.

"Because she's in daycare in Junee, it means that she's got to go like an hour before I start work. I don't see her until well after I finish work," she said. "A lot of people think that it's selfish to have kids and be working.

"It kind of makes me feel like I need to choose between my career and looking after her."

Questions have been raised about the city's commitment to improving the situation after Wagga City Council rejected plans for a 46 place childcare centre due to community concerns, the second such rejection in the past year.

Miss Duddy has some sympathy for the residents, but the wait to get her daughter into childcare has left her "almost too hopeless to try".

"It's very disheartening," she said.

Amy Hurd Learning Centre director Tracey Snow knocks back parents everyday, but said that the biggest issue affecting capacity is a lack of staff.

"There's a need for [more centres] in Wagga. But unfortunately, there's also a lack of staffing. So you wouldn't be able to staff if you build a new centre at the moment," she said.

"There are services within Wagga that actually have rooms that are vacant, but they can't fill the spots, because they can't staff them."

The childcare situation in Wagga has never been as bad, she said, and things won't improve until early childhood educators are "paid and acknowledged as professionals".

"We're losing educators every day to go to work at Woolworths ... because there's less pressure on them," she said.

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