The Northern Territory's transport minister has called an Uber spokesman a "spoiled brat" after the government was accused of not being able to decide on whether to open the door to the ridesharing service.
The NT government has announced it won't be changing existing regulations until the NT's troubled taxi industry has had time to implement new reforms.
It also wants to see how other states and territories handle Uber and will review the regulations in 12 months.
Uber Australia spokesman Brad Kitschke told the ABC on Tuesday that people deserve better choices and more competition.
"The question for the people of the NT is, do they want a government that's open for competition? Do they want a government that's open to new ideas? Do they want a government that's about delivering better services? Or do they want the government they've got at the moment, which just can't make up its mind?" he said.
"Sitting on their hands and thinking that it's all too hard really isn't something people should accept from a government."
Transport Minister Peter Chandler hit back saying the Uber spokesman "sounded like a spoiled brat", but said he would meet with the company next month.
"The good thing that technology and Uber have done for the taxi industry is a real wake-up call, because what I've said to them is, `if you guys lift your standards to such a degree that people will think that calling a taxi... is fantastic because of the service they offer, companies like Uber probably won't even bother coming into this market because the taxi industry is so good, but we have a long way to go'," Mr Chandler told AAP.
Opposition Leader Michael Gunner said the government needs to deal with the reality that Uber will head to the NT.
"We can't afford for Uber to come to the Territory, which they will do, undercut our current taxi industry and lose our taxi industry; when that happens you do get exposed to Uber being a monopoly and surge pricing," he said.
