naming daddy - not as easy as Muriel makes it sound?

I've recently heard about a case where a young woman ended up pregnant due to a contraceptive failure and the father has returned to his home country.

She applied for the DPB after the birth and was told she would be docked $22 a week unless she named the father.

She named the father and supplied his overseas contact details.

She was told that this isn't enough as the father is not on the birth certificate and he has to sign a form agreeing that he is in fact the father. Of course he refuses to sign.

As far as IRD are concerned this is the end of the story; by their rules she has not in fact named the father and thus does not get the $22 (which will soon to increase to $28). She and her family are challenging this ruling, so watch this space.

Now I have no idea if this is a one off case caused by a miserly official or general policy, but it certainly does provide a possible explanation for why some women aren't naming the father - they actually are but the fathers are not consenting to the process.

Food for thought.