PHILLIP Miegel knows better than most people the devastating impacts of being lied to about paternity.

He became suspicious after his wife fell pregnant with their fourth child, despite his having had a vasectomy.

In the following months, he discovered he was not the biological father of three of the four children he had been raising as his own.

Legislation being proposed by the Rudd Government, which could see fathers like Mr Miegel — who DNA test their children without a court order — being jailed for two years has caused a community outcry.

A spokesman for one of the country’s leading genetic laboratories claimed yesterday the laws would lead to civil disobedience as parents went overseas for the tests.

The number of tests being conducted annually has doubled in the past six years to 6000, with more than 1200 fathers a year finding they are not the biological parent.

The proposed legislation has sparked claims the Family Court refuses as many as 90 per cent of applications for DNA tests.

With the issue of thousands or even tens of thousands of fathers paying child support for children who are not theirs a burning one in fathers groups, Mr Miegel finds himself among those calling for DNA testing to be made mandatory at birth.

The 40-year-old labourer, from Gunnedah in northern NSW, said everyone involved in his case, particularly the children’s “grandparents”, had been devastated by the findings.

His biological son now lives with him full time but he has, despite his wishes, no contact with the other children.

“I was shattered, completely shattered,” he said. “I had no suspicion, none at all.

“It affects everyone. My parents were completely devastated. My youngest was a girl, the first in the family for a long time, and my father, who thought he was her grandfather, took it really hard.”

So concerned did the Government become this week over the furore created by the release of a discussion paper on laws governing DNA theft, Home Affairs Minister Bob Debus issued a statement claiming it was never the intention to jail fathers for conducting “legitimate” paternity tests.

“What we’re attempting to legislate is the misuse of the results of paternity tests, which can cause great embarrassment and hurt,” he said.

However the proposed legislation states unambiguously a person who “obtains any bodily material of another person with theintention of causing a genetic test to be conducted” could face two years imprisonment. There is no exemption for fathers. A spokeswoman for Mr Debus said he was on a plane and unavailable to be interviewed.

Ian Smith, business development manager for Genetic Technologies, which conducts more than half the DNA paternity tests in Australia, said the proposed legislation would encourage civil disobedience.

“Even if the legislation is passed people will find the information they want,” he said. “A lot of offshore laboratories actively promote their services in Australia via the internet. The legislation will be powerless to stop these providers offering their services toAustralian fathers.”

The Family Court did not collect data on the number of applications for DNA tests and it would take months to determine what percentage were rejected, a spokeswoman said.

Credit: John Stapleton