Fresh calls for Australian government to conduct UFO review as sightings continue
The evidence for aliens is inconclusive, but it does seem to be mounting. Many Aussies think they exist and governments are covering it up. Have your say and tell us if you’ve seen a UFO.
Space
Don't miss out on the headlines from Space. Followed categories will be added to My News.
More than a third of Aussies believe aliens have made contact with Earth and almost as many are convinced of a government cover-up, new exclusive research reveals.
It comes as the US Congress has lent legitimacy to the idea with UFO hearings featuring high-profile intelligence community whistleblowers, and as a petition sits with the Australian Parliament calling for a formal UFO review and dedicated investigatory body.
The petition was presented to parliament in July asking the House of Representatives “to conduct a formal review of Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAP) and consider the establishment of an investigatory body to assess the potential national security threats and safety of flight risks that UAP pose”.
It is being reviewed, with Defence Minister Richard Marles expected to respond before the end of October.
But MUFON (Mutual UFO Network) Australia and New Zealand national director Roger Stankovic was not optimistic that action would be taken.
The neuroscientist – who obtained his PhD through the University of Sydney and is now particularly interested in Havana Syndrome, a mysterious illness reported by hundreds of US spies, diplomats, and defence officials – said he wrote to Mr Marles asking whether Australia would form an organisation similar to America’s All-Domain Anomaly Resolution Office (ARRO).
He was told they were no longer looking at the UAP issue.
“I found that quite difficult to believe or understand as I am sure there are reports where pilots come across UAPs and there is a safety issue,” Mr Stankovic said.
“There are certain ministers like Penny Wong who ridicule the subject during parliament.
“We only have one senator pushing it – (Australian Greens’ Peter) Whish-Wilson – but he is not getting very far in terms of other senators supporting him.”
For now, military personnel and civilians can report UAP / UFO sightings to MUFON, which is US-based but has branches all over the world.
Mr Stankovic and his team of voluntary field investigators speak to witnesses then methodically work to rule out whether the object was a satellite, plane, helicopter, drone, space junk or celestial body based on data such as flight paths and height limits.
Most reports take days or weeks to investigate, but more involved cases can take months.
“We get about 120 reports per year (in Australia) and, of those, probably 5 or 10 per cent are ‘unknowns’,” Mr Stankovic said.
“We don’t say it’s an extraterrestrial spacecraft as the only way to do that is with physical evidence.”
MUFON has about 13 field investigators in Australia and New Zealand, but is seeking more.
Anyone interested must first study the manual then pass an exam before a period of training with reports overseen by Mr Stankovic.
“We accept anyone but usually end up getting professional people who have experience as private investigators, retired police officers … we have had people apply who have been in the military,” said Mr Stankovic, who teaches molecular biology, physiology and pathology in the tertiary education sector.
“Anyone who has a scientific background would suit this down to the ground.
“It’s usually people who may have had a personal (UAP/UFO) experience themselves.”
Lonergan Research surveyed 1000 Australians in September and found one in 10 had personally witnessed a UFO, with rates higher among men (13 per cent) than women (8 per cent).
It also found 34 per cent of Australians believed extraterrestrial beings had made contact with Earth, led by Generation X (age 40 to 59) at 38 per cent.
And 29 per cent thought our government was covering up evidence of contact, climbing to 40 per cent among Generation Z (age 18 to 24).
About a third of all respondents (34 per cent) said Australia should have a dedicated agency or hotline for people to report UFO sightings.
AUSTRALIAN UFO ENCOUNTERS - DO YOU BELIEVE?
COPPER BARIUM COLLISION – MAY, 2023
A woman was travelling north, about 56km south of Charleville, Qld, on Highway A71, in May when her vehicle was involved in a collision with a teardrop-shaped airborne object.
She did not wish to be named but gave permission for MUFON (Mutual UFO Network) Australia and New Zealand national director Roger Stankovic to share her experience.
“The UAP (Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena) was descending towards her vehicle at great speed,” he said.
“Suddenly, her camper was pushed to the opposite side of the road – perhaps by the wake of the object as it passed over.
“The experience was extremely traumatic.”
As part of their investigation, the MUFON team eliminated all possible prosaic explanations, such as meteorite or space junk, and did an Energy Dispersive Xray analysis of the dust on the vehicle.
ROCKHAMPTON CATTLE MUTILATION – MAY-JUNE, 2023
One MUFON investigation that caught the attention of Mr Stankovic this year was a cattle mutilation case in southern central Queensland.
“There was tissue removed from (the cow’s) mouth region and anal coring,” he said.
“I have spoken to veterinarians including one working in NSW at the time of the Casino cattle mutilations in the 70s, and he said he doesn’t know how they occur.
“The vets excluded predators and human interference.
“Tissue is taken off the bone without disturbing a thin layer called the periosteum … cutting an organ in a cow without cutting any blood vessels.”
Mr Stankovic said the witness was a “salt of the Earth” type farmer and he believed the attack was extraterrestrial “without batting an eyelid”.
A WESTERN SYDNEY ENCOUNTER – 1970s
Mr Stankovic’s interest in UFOs started when he was 14 or 15 and saw one on his family’s property in the rural suburbs in western Sydney in the 1970s.
“The object was seen to float over from the south until it reached a location 300 to 400 meters directly in front of me at a 45-degree angle up in the night sky,” he said.
“The object then just hovered and began to increase in diameter until it was as large as a 5-cent piece held at arm’s length.
“The white orb-shaped object appeared to execute an anomalous manoeuvre which startled me and then sped down to the ground and landed.
“It lit up the surrounding area as if daylight.
“The ontological shock of the incident made me obsessed with UFOs.”
Originally published as Fresh calls for Australian government to conduct UFO review as sightings continue
Musk does unthinkable to tiny Texas town
Elon Musk bought a tiny town in the middle of Texas. Now, he wants to evict all the residents in preparation for his ‘Utopia’.
‘Coin flip’ Milky Way will be destroyed
Our Milky Way galaxy and the Andromeda galaxy have long thought to be on a certain collision course — but we might still have a chance.