Government is reviewing the system it uses to enforce child support payments after it was revealed that 91 deadbeats dads were jailed in 2003.

But Shadow Health Minister Michael Dunkley is calling for a complete overhaul of the "revolving door" system, saying it is costing Government millions of dollars without any benefit to the children concerned.

In answer to questions in the House of Assembly on Friday, Home Affairs Minister Randy Horton said 32 men are now in Westgate for failing to pay child support. Last year, 91 men were locked up, and in 2002, 119 men were put behind bars.

But Mr. Dunkley, who said he has dealt with employees who fail to pay child support, said the system is failing.

Mr. Dunkley said taxpayers were forking out unnecessary money to support the men who are locked up. Incarceration also means the men cannot fully pay off their child support arrears while they are in jail. It is estimated that it costs Government $50,000 a year to incarcerate someone, or $1,000 a week.

The Devonshire East MP said he has also received a phone call from a woman, who recently had $10,000 in child support payments written off by the court.

"She was owed a significant amount of money and thousands of dollars worth was just struck off the record."

He continued: "It's a revolving door, men are not working, women are not receiving their payments. There are 32 people who are able-bodied individuals and the taxpayer is paying the burden of keeping them in jail and when they get out they're in the same situation."

Rather than men making the payments themselves, Mr. Dunkley is suggesting that before employment the employee let their boss know about the situation.

Mr. Horton said yesterday Government had had better results collecting child support payments this year. He said sending men who fail to pay works as a deterrent, however, the challenge is that locking these men up clogs up the prison.

"This is certainly something we should find a solution to," said Mr. Horton. "The ramifications of sending anyone to prison for any reason has serious social consequences, that family will suffer."

He pointed out that fathers who are employed can work towards paying off their arrears on the prison release work programme. Mr. Horton said there were still a significant number of deadbeat Dads not continuing to live up to their responsibilities.

An official at the Family Support Office in Magistrates' Court said the majority of child support payments are now made by men and women in the form of an attachment of earnings order. The process is usually approved but can even be enforced if necessary. The court would not reveal the amount of outstanding child support payments.

Eddie Fisher, of the father's rights group Child Watch, agreed the system is not working.

"It's an inane concept to lock up a man when he can not pay. That's putting a $40,000 bill on the shoulders of the public," he said.

He said some women who were not involved with the child's father were excluding the father for a number of reasons, mainly jealousy over the father's involvement with another woman. He said little involvement with a child leaves fathers wondering why they should pay the bills for a child they no longer involved with on a regular basis.

Child Watch has continuously suggested to Government to take child custody issues out of the courts, as the system is dealing with a backlog, and have them thrashed out by an independent council of parenting experts.

"For the sake of the child we need a council to work with the parents to devise a plan for the sake of the child and look at how they will make the payments and what is the parenting plan so both parents have equal responsibility for the child."

Failure to pay child support can result in a judge sending the person who has failed to make payments to jail for the length of time they think suitable. Payments range in size and depend on the amount of children a man has to support. They can vary from $60 to several hundred dollars a week. Money is paid automatically to whomever is the primary caregiver for the child, usually the mother.

Mr. Dunkley pointed out that there is also no system in place to ensure it is spent directly on the child's upkeep.

"There is no accountability in how the money should be spent. We've got mothers living off money. There are even stories of mothers having children so they can bring in a certain amount of money," he said.

Mr. Dunkley is also proposing Government compile a record or database to inform employers who may hire someone who is in arrears, rather than see them carted off to jail in the middle of the work week.

He said this would be to the employee's advantage and would help the court build a relationship with employers to ensure payments are paid off as efficiently as possible.

There are also social ramifications from the system, and Mr. Dunkley said ultimately the ones who lose out are the children.

"It's expensive to raise a child and what happens is that children are not getting the upkeep that they need or not having their schooling and nutritional needs met."