Paternity test tipped to be put off

The Government will announce today it has deferred making decisions on controversial recommendations on "legal parenthood" - including one saying men should be forced to take DNA tests to settle paternity disputes.

It is responding to a Law Commission report released last year entitled "New Issues in Legal Parenthood".

The report contains 30 recommended law changes designed to reflect changing family structures and developments in new birth technology and DNA testing. It also called for egg and sperm donors to become "third parents" and for surrogacy laws to provide greater protection for all parties.

The report was released in April last year and the Government was required to respond within six months. But its response, set to be delivered almost a year later by Justice Minister Mark Burton, is understood to centre around deferring decisions.

He will say the recommendations are important and may identify specific issues the Government is doing further work on. But he will also confirm no final decisions have been made and that the Government believes it should proceed with caution.

The commission said that intentional non-compliance with DNA test orders should be met with fines of up to $2500 and three months in jail.

The legal presumption of fatherhood should also be extended to include de facto and civil union partners living with the mother at the time of conception, it said.

At present, the Family Court can recommend people involved in paternity disputes have DNA tests, but has no enforcement powers.

If a father refuses to have a test, the court will hear evidence and rule on paternity status without a test.

About 7 per cent of New Zealand children have no named father on their birth certificate.

In many cases the children know their father, but they are not named on the certificate to avoid paying child support.